


The Trouble With Betrothals

by IzzySamson



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-09
Updated: 2013-01-09
Packaged: 2017-11-24 05:41:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 73,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/631050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IzzySamson/pseuds/IzzySamson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First fan fic. Slightly AU. Set in a Panem with no games and a District 12 where arranged marriages are the norm. When Katniss' fiance, Gale, is caught cheating with Johanna Mason, Peeta steps up to become her betrothed. But will it all end in happily ever after?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was my first ever fan fiction originally on fanfiction .com. The first half maybe a little rough, I didn't get my awesome beta kismet4891 until about half way through. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.

**The Trouble With Betrothals**

Peeta

Absolute anger fills me as I wait for the miners' shift to end, we're waiting, my brothers Graham and Rhyes and I. We must look imposing, all of us being somewhat tall and stout, like all Mellarks.

Never have I been as furious as I am today. How could he? He has just endangered a lot of reputations all for what, roll in the meadow?

I hate Gale Hawthorne, because he might just have ruined the lives of two of my favorite women. The girl I've loved, as long as I could remember, Katniss Everdeen. And Johanna Mason my cousin's widow, it makes me boil thinking about what she'll have to deal with tonight.

I love Katniss, I was not infatuated, not in lust, but real and true love with her. Willing run into a blazing fire for her, I would die for her, yet only thing I've ever been able to do for her was take a ribbing from my friends for defending her when someone talked trash about her. Actually I nearly got into a fight for her at the beginning of the school year, when heard Casper Boyle, the mine manager's son, referred to her as a 'Seam slut'.

Finally I'd gotten the nerve to talk to her some this last summer, she was on her own more often, with Gale in the mines. My dad lets me handle some of the bartering of goods for bread now that I'm older. Mostly discussing only the trade of squirrels; sometimes making small talk, occasionally even getting a small smile, but nothing monumental. Her sister, Primrose, is different though, bubbly and talkative with an easy smile, she comes in once a week to trade her goat cheese I slip in a cookie into her bread bag. I have totally selfish motives, hoping to get her to speak well of me to her sister. I've thought about trying the cookie thing with Katniss, but I have a feeling she would take it as pity or charity.

I notice everything about her. Large grey eyes, long, dark, glossy hair all set off by her olive skin. She was slender, strong but graceful, perfectly proportioned curves, with a cool expression that she wore constantly, setting her apart from every other girl. Independent and proud, not every guy would think of her as pretty, although to me she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

When I was younger I would hope that Gale and Katniss were just cousins sinced they looked so much alike. I was devastated two years ago when I heard about Gale's and Katniss' betrothal. It made sense though, they both hunted, both from the Seam. Watching jealously for years now, is all I've been able to do. Yet willing to accept our fate, her with Gale, me with someone else or alone, if it was what she wanted, because I wanted her happy above all else.

Vainly I hoped that it was not a love, at least on her part. When I watched saw them together she seemed lighter, not happier, not like when she was with her little sister Prim, but contented. Katniss would give him silly looks and the occasional playful slaps and shoves as they walked together, more like brother and sister. Never had I seen them hold hands or share any kind of embrace, maybe I was overly hopeful.

Gale finally steps out of the mine exit, covered in coal dust joking with his crew. My brothers and I wait for him to disengage from the group, the fewer witnesses the better.

"Hawthorne?" Graham calls out, he is the oldest he is in charge of bringing him in.

"Yeah?" Gale turns to see who is calling for him, his smile disappears when he sees us. "Let me guess, this is about Johanna?"

"Yes. You've been sneaking out into the woods with her." Graham answered.

"We've just been having a good time; she's been just as willing as I have." Gale measures us up. "You guys here to kick my ass? Cause, three against one does not seem like good odds."

"No, we're taking you town to talk to Rooba and Johanna. There is a lot that needs to be worked out. You and Johanna are going to be parents."

"What…me?" he sputters "are you sure I'm the only one?"

"Yeah, we trust what she says." Graham replies.

Then I lose my temper, Gale's arrogance annoys me. "You prick, you're engaged why would do this to your fiancée? You just assume since you're messing around with more than one person that everyone is?"

"Look, it's not like I'm screwing them both. I love Katniss, but I've never had so much as my hand up her shirt." Gale turns his attention to me. "A man has needs. Johanna apparently had some to. We were just taking care of each other. But maybe you wouldn't know that yet, kiddo."

Before I know what I'm doing it's done. I swing and punch Gale square in the face. He stumbles backwards, ready to start swinging. Graham grabs me and Rhyes grabs Gale.

"Calm it down here, guys, this isn't going to help anything." Graham says as he hands Gale a handkerchief to dab the blood coming from his nose. Then he gives me a 'what in the hell' look.

Then quietly we walk back to the bakery. We were met at the door by Johanna. "Hello gorgeous, apparently black market condoms weren't the best idea!" she greeted Gale. "I see that my favorite dough boys found you."

I don't know what is said down in the bakery, between Aunt Rooba, Dad, Johanna and Gale. The talk is quite now, at first there was some arguing, then some crying. Rhyes and I wait in his small apartment above the store, Graham has gone home to his wife and toddler. We've been here most of the night.

Aunt Rooba would do anything for Johanna, they were all that the other one has. She had come from district 7 a few years ago. She was eighteen and all alone, her family gone. When she went to district 7 Justice building to volunteer for the exchange program, knowing once she left she could never go back. They asked her where she wanted to go. She replied 'Anywhere surrounded by trees'. So she was sent here.

She had been part of the Capital's plan to "refresh" the gene pool of our small district. For some families finding someone who was not a close cousin was a problem. Merchants only married merchants and Seam people only married Seam people, with very few exceptions. That is just the way it is. I didn't like the status quo; I would like to buck it if I had the chance.

Johanna looked nothing like anyone from here, tall for a woman and slender yet curvy in the right places. She had short spiky dark auburn hair, pale skin, and large wide-set brown eyes. She was also known for her outragous character, flirting with every man she met, running around her apartment naked with all her windows open. Yet somehow she bonded with my aunt and stayed with her after my cousin Ward died, from a bout with chicken pox. They had been married for about a year.

Finally I hear Gale then, Rooba and Johanna leave, its no longer Saturday night but Sunday morning. Rhyes is asleep on his couch. Dad comes up the steps.

"Hey, Peeta ," Dad says to me looking tired but a little smile on his face. "What do you think about getting a chance to married to the girl of your dreams?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Katniss

It's Sunday, the one day a week I get with Gale now that he works in the mines. I wait for Gale at our usual spot, a large rock in the woods out of district 12 he is late, and he is never late. I begin to wonder, was there something wrong at home? Was one of his family members ill? The measles are going around.

Or was he caught going under fence, by the Peacekeepers? You can't hunt or gather in the in Panem, everything you consume is supposed to come from the government, but it is never enough. The Peacekeepers don't really care that most everyone has a small garden, or keeps small livestock, permits are required but no one can afford them. Very few people are brave enough to poach like Gale and me do. Peacekeepers are our biggest buyers. But you never know when Cray will get a burr up his ass, or when a supervisor from the Capitol will make a surprise inspection.

As the sun climbs higher I start worry, we normally meet at the days first light. It's a cool, crisp early November day, maybe we could get a deer today.

Gale Hawthorne is my best friend; we have been since we've started hunting together 5 years ago after our fathers died in a mine explosion. I was 12 he was 14 and we were brought together by our mutual need a few months after their deaths. We were able to bring in bigger hauls together with my bows and his snares we were better able to support our families, supplementing the tiny pensions that our mothers received.

Three years ago our mutual need was again the cause of another union, our engagement. Here in district 12 almost everyone is betrothed by the time they're 15, earlier if you're a merchant, in order to get in good with a choice family. But us Seam kids, usually get to choose, no money or inheritance is one the line for us. It's just a matter of who do you want to help take care of you and your family if the worst would happen. Which in the Seam, is serious food shortages and /or early death. Love is often a factor too, at least in the Seam. I love Gale I know I do, he _is_ my best friend, feeling freer with him in the woods than I do anyone else, speeeking openly about our distain for the Capitol. Yet I don't know if it's the kind of love that married people should have, the love that my parents had. I can't imagine us doing the things that married people do.

Maybe it's better that way. If I don't have a great passionate love for him I can't be hurt as badly as my mother was when my father died. My mother loved my father more than anyone else I've ever witnessed; she left her easy life in town to be with my dad. They were sweet and gentle together always smiling and laughing together, giving each other loving looks and did special little things for the other. My father would bring wildflowers from the woods and Mom would run to meet him at the door. Mom had been a merchant's daughter, her parents ran the apothecary shop. I don't know how their marriage came to be, mom didn't like to talk about my dad now.

Our engagement insured my safety, when I was in the Hob, our black market. Cray, our creepy head Peacekeeper and other sleazy men would leave girls that were spoken for alone. Also at school my engagement to Gale would my life easier by keeping snide comments at bay from both merchant and Seam kids alike. Gale and I already spent most of our free time together hunting and trading; people were already talking about us like we were a couple. Betrothal was the next natural step, I guess.

Marriage and children were not things that I was really interested in, but the alternative of being hit on by pervs was not desirable either. Gale agreed, we've both taking care of kids since we were kids and I was not eager to have one more mouth to feed.

Our potential pairing would help both families. My mother and Hazelle, Gale's mother, also agreed. In fact our engagement was so favorable that my little sister, Primrose, and Gale's brother, Rory, were betrothed a few months ago, they were both thrilled. They had always had little crushes on each other. It's cute to watch them together; they've just started to shyly hold hands as they walk to school.

Having a man or at least nearly a man was good for our little family; it gave us a measure of security. My mother, Prim and I have been alone for six years. Mom was lost in her own little world for months after my father died; she came back to us bit by bit. Prim was thrilled, she was affectionate with her again, me not so much, I was angry that she left us to fend for ourselves while she was lost in her depression.

Then relief comes when I hear his familiar voice from behind me, but much sadder than I've ever it. "I'm really sorry Katniss, so very sorry."

"What no Catnip….? You're just late." He never calls me by my given name, unless it is something bad. I turn to him to look at him and I am shocked at what I see. Gale, tall, proud, handsome, with olive skin, dark hair and grey eyes. Those grey eyes are blackened and he looks disheveled and tired. I rush to him and examine his face closer. "What happened to you?"

"The Mellark boys." He replies, not meeting my gaze as I grasp his arms.

"The Mellark boys, all three of them?"

He nods. "Just the youngest, punched me.. Pecker, Pablo, whatever in the hell his name is."

"Peeta?" I say in disbelief. The kind baker's son? I've spoken to him a handful of times. He was the school wrestling champion but too gentle and kind to do this to anyone without provocation. I've seen him stop bullies from tormenting smaller kids, and slip cookies or rolls to thin little Seam kids at the bakery when I trade game. I can't dislike this boy.

"Why would he do that?"

"Well I guess I had it coming…." He looks at me with tears in his eyes, I think for a moment that his injuries are causing him pain but I've seen him worse from hunting accidents and never do more say 'ouch'. I've never seen him like this. "Katniss," he says in such a way that I know it is emotional pain. "I messed up, I didn't mean to, it was a just causal thing…"

Now I'm really worried. "Gale what are you talking about?" I ask confused and frightened.

"I've been sneaking around with Johanna Mason." He quietly admits, my jaw drops.

I know Johanna only in passing she is Rooba the butcher's widowed daughter-in –law.

"Gale, no!" I whisper. "Please don't say anymore."

"Katniss…I got her pregnant."

Johanna Mason? Pregnant? By Gale? MY Gale? I sink to my knees, total shock weighs me down. Gale catches me and sinks with me.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry," He says over and over again. "the Mellark boys caught me leaving the mines after my shift. They took me to the bakery, I met with the Rooba, Mr. Mellark and Johanna…They want me to marry her…"

Well, of course I think. Then suddenly for the first time I thought about what this will mean for me and my family. Seventeen with a broken marriage contract is not ideal, especially for a seam girl whom has nothing but her reputation to recommend her. People already thought that Gale and I were 'active'. Despite the fact we never had done more than kiss a handful of times. The fear I had was not for me, it was for my family, mostly my sister. Primrose was far too good to have to deal with shame like this.

"They've offered me a good deal," he tells me, somberly. "Rooba would take me on as an apprentice, I would quit the mines. I could afford better housing for my mom and siblings, mom could stop taking in laundry. Someday Johanna and I would inherit the butcher shop. Vick and Rory could find better jobs. Posey could have a nice dowry someday. "

He stops and studies me. "But I won't do any of it, if you don't want me to."

I stiffly sit, barely breathing, and not making a sound. Then somehow I manage to ask, "What about my family and me?"

"That's why I'm here now. We need to go to the marriage broker, Mr. Abernathy, this afternoon. He can tell us our options" he explained. "Mr. Mellark and Rooba said that they had some discussing to do…But I think that they want to buy out your bridal contract."

Mom and I are heading to Mr. Abernathy's. Mom had insisted that I wear a nice dress that was from her days as a merchant's daughter, it was pale blue, Prim commented on how nice it looked me. I hardly noticed or cared. Mom had braided my hair elaborately.

I thought it was silly to get dressed up to go visit the drunken broker. Haymitch Abernathy handled all of the marriage contracts in the district; he had been widowed years ago, more than likely why he drank. He was from the Seam and very smart, had married well and had found a trade, and raised himself above the rest of us. Haymitch was the only person that I know of, other than my parents, to marry outside of his class. He was always willing to barter for his services, a bottle of white liquor would pay for a contract if your from the Seam. Merchants had to pay with coins, the bigger the dowries the higher the cost.

We sit, waiting, in an office building, that straddles the Seam and the merchants' area. Haymitch's building is rundown and covered in coal dust like all things here in 12.

In medium sized room mostly filled by a long table Gale and his mother were waiting for us, as were Rooba, her bother Mr. Mellark and Peeta. I sit on one side in between Hazelle (Gale's mom) and my mom. Mr. Mellark sits across from my mom, Rooba is opposite me with at her side Peeta. Gale is sitting next to Peeta, at the end of the table and I catch them giving each other weary looks. I'm still confused as to why the Mellarks are here, I know that they are Rooba's only living male relatives. Maybe they were affraid that Gale would run and Peeta and Mr. Mellark were here to keep him in line.

Gale said that he thought that they would offer to buy out my marriage contract, giving me the dowry I've never had. It would be pricey, even for a Seam girl. It would take a lot of money to tempt a good man and his family to take a law breaking, icey cold huntress, that everyone thought was used goods.

Quiet greetings are exchanged by all but me, I have adopted my claim, cool, distant composure that I am so well known for. I pick a spot on the wall a crossed the room to study.

Haymitch stumbles in. "Good Sunday all." He grumbles. "You know emergency visits cost one bottle more?"

"How about the next time you smack your head because you're too drunk to stand, I'll treat you for free." Mom answers back, with a weak smile. She and Haymitch's wife, Maisylee had been best friends and so was friendly with Haymitch by default. We know him well and he is almost like an uncle to Prim and me.

Haymitch smiles and nods.

"Katniss, Lily," Hazelle starts with catch in her voice. "We are so sorry. I really hope that this doesn't change anything for Rory and Prim."

"Well, let's just handle one contract at a time." Haymitch says, flask in hand. "It's been a long time since I've had a situation like this. Usually a boy knocks up his own fiancée and not the cute nudist butcher... Not that I blame you Hawthorne." He laughs at his own joke and laughs alone, the rest of the room soberly waiting to proceed.

"Speaking of little miss knife slinger where is she?" Haymitch asks. " Is she afraid of sweetheart over here?." Gesturing to me.

"No," Rooba answered, "She's been up all night, I thought she and the baby needed the rest."

"Alright we'll get this thing going." Haymitch straightens himself up and take a more serious tone. "We need to decide how we go about this, this is a messy situation. If Miss Everdeen will sign the contract termination papers then Mr. Hawthornt and Mrs. Mason can get married right away. If she fights it, it will be a long costly process and will drag all parties involved through the mud. A lot of gossip and drama, if it's done fast it should be fairly painless, but not totally."

"Katniss," Gale looks at me from a crossed the table. "I will still marry you if you want me to. I'm bound to you first." Mr. Mellark, Hazelle, and Rooba all look nervously at me.

I stare at Gale coldly, fighting back all of my emotion. "It doesn't seem like it! If you were _sooo_ attached to me, we would not be in this mess. And besides how could you by more _bound_ to me than to your baby? We both know what it's like to not have a father. How could you even dream of leaving your child fatherless intentionally?" I look to my mom then to Hazelle both look sad and broken.

Gale glares at me, his face reddens then looks down at the floor, as if he is suddenly ashamed.

"I'll sign whatever you need me to." I say in an even tone. "Families should be together. Also, if eventually this will help Rory find a trade, this will help Prim in the long run... I can't say no to that. "

Hazelle looks almost relieved; the mines that took her husband's life will not also claim her sons.

Mom looks to Haymitch. "What about Katniss's future? She's seventeen with no dowry finding a good husband now will be nearly impossible."

Before Haymitch could respond Mr. Mellark answers. "That's why I'm here, we'd like offer one of my sons in exchange for Mr. Hawthorn."

My eyes go wide in surprise.

Gale snaps up his head. "You can't do that!" He barks. "They're all spoken for!"

This practice is uncommon but not unheard of, exchanging contracts. It's typically used when kids get older and it becomes apparent that personalities won't mesh or vocations aren't compatible or rarely caused by emotional attachment to another person.

"No," Mr. Mellark replies. "Graham is married, Rhyes is engaged to Delly Cartwright and Peeta is unattached. He has agreed to marry Katniss, if she agrees to. We'd even drawl up the papers today to show our sincerity."

My mother wears a blank looks as if she can't process it. "Hank..I..don't know what to say. We have no dowry to offer."

"Lily we don't care, let us worry about that. You've got enough to worry about. Besides there is so much more to a person's worth than money. We know that Katniss is a good girl."

"Oh, Hank." Mom whispers. "Thank you, you're always so kind."

Suddenly I try to stand in order to protest. How dare they? How dare try to plan my life without my consent. I've been the active head of the family for 5 years and now my life is being decided by others? My mom was only here because I'm too young to sign, legally.

My mouth is dry, my head is light. I've not eaten or drank all day, which normally wouldn't phase me but on top of the stress of the day, it causes me to falter. Everything goes blank.

I come to in a large pair of warm and steady arms, for a moment I think of my father holding me as I slept as a child, feeling safe and happy, something I've not felt in a long time. Something was off though, my father had smelled of the woods and mines but instead I smell fresh bread with hints of cinnamon and dill. I open my eyes, not to be met by my father's deep grey ones but the bright shining blue eyes of Peeta. I gasp in surprise, wasn't he on the other side of the room? I must have been out only for a few seconds.

Fainted? Me? Like this day wasn't bad enough already.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asks me calmly. 'When did his voice get so deep?' I think to myself.

"Yes, I just need some water."

Haymitch hands me a filled glass. "Don't worry sweetheart it happen in here more than you think. Maybe you should get some air. Boy," Haymitch motioned to Peeta. "Take her outside. We can discuss particulars with your parents while you're gone."

"No! I can do it." Gale stood and tried to take me by the hand.

"Haven't you done enough already?" I ask and glare at him. "I'm _not_ your responsibility any more. Let me sign the release papers then Gale and Hazelle can be on their way."

Gale slumps back into his chair, giving Peeta a dirty look.

Haymitch hands me a form, I sign, pass it to my mother who does the same.

Hazelle stands and gives me a small hug and whispers in my ear. "You're still my family."

"Thank you."I manage to hold back my tears; she and I had always been close.

Gale stands and leans in to hug me.

"No!" I say in a low voice as I step back. "You don't get to touch me."

"And that is why we're here now." Gale scoffs.

Finally I snap and I slap him with everything I have. A look of shock is apparent on his face as is a red hand print. 'That will go nicely with his black eye' I tell myself.

Peeta steps between us and I can tell he is trying to hide a smile. He urges me gently. "Come on, let's get some air."

Peeta leads me out the back door, by the hand. The Hawthorns leave through the front. I can hear Hazelle berate Gale from the other side of the building.

I'm so numb I hardly know what I'm doing; this whole day has been surreal. "What do you think?" Peeta askes me, as we stand on the office porch.

I look at my hand in his and reply absently. "I thought your hands would be softer, being from town. Your hands are nearly as rough as mine."

He grins sheepishly. "Yeah, a bakery is rougher than most people think. But I meant about what is going on inside. I can't imagine what's going on inside your head."

I pull my hand from his and study him a moment. He has on khaki pants and pinstriped blue button up shirt, with a slightly worn grey dress jacket, clearly a hand me down, which comforted me a little. His wavy blonde hair is a little shaggy in and want of a trim, his pale, slightly freckled skin and most of all I notice his blue eyes, they entrance me for a moment. He is wide shouldered, muscular, just under six foot tall, but with a boyish face. I wouldn't have called him very handsome, like Gale, but still pretty attractive. I've heard a lot of girls talk about him, I can't believe that he had not been betrothed by now.

"I don't know what to think." I say as I finally turn my gaze from him to look at the landscape, I was suddenly embarrassed my own staring. "This is all so surreal."

"I know. If someone would've told me 24 hours ago I would be here with you now, I would've said they were crazy." Peeta smiled at me shyly.

"I never saw this coming."As soon as I said this a moment from last spring came into my mind, maybe I did. Gale and I were fishing; I was just relaxing, closing my eyes, enjoying the sun on my face. Then Gale started kissing me, I humor him for a while, since we were engaged. Suddenly I felt something demanding behind his kiss, his breathing became erratic, his hands grabbing my ass and pulling me hard against him. Pushing him back I gave him a dirty look. He looked upset with me and whispered under his breath something to the effect of 'a lot of girls would love to get it from me'. I ignored him, not wanting to fight. We'd had this discussion before, often and more frequently; I wasn't ready for anything physical yet. After that he had stopped trying to get me to mess around with him, I thought that maybe he had gotten the point that I wanted to wait till we were married. Apparently instead he had found Johanna, one of those "girls". I feel my face heat with anger.

"I could only imagine." Then Peeta turns to me and clears his throat. I purposely keep staring the distance to avoid those vividly blue eyes.

I don't know how long we stand there, and then he breaks the awkward silence. "Are you chilly?"

The day had gotten progressively cooler. Before I could lie and say 'no', he removes his jacket and drapes it over my shoulders. I could feel his warmth still clinging to it. "Thanks, but don't you want it?" I ask unsure of what to do.

"No, I was a little too warm anyways."

Haymitch pokes his head out the door. "You two can come back in, we're almost done in here."

We walk back in, me leading the way. Apparently Rooba had also left, leaving my mom and Mr. Mellark alone in the room with Haymitch.

"The details have been worked out." Haymitch says happily. "Now comes the easy part you two, read the document and if you agree, you sign, and then you seal it with a kiss."

Oh crap! I forgot about this part. When I signed papers with Gale, it was my first kiss and tight mouthed and awkward. He grabbed me like I was going to run away, pressed his lips to mine as if marking me as his.

I barely glance at the fine print, too nervous and confused to hardly notice. Mom already signed, she must have agreed to the terms. I sign, like there was anything I could do now? Peeta looks as if he is actually reading the contract then he signs.

Next as if on cue he takes one of my hands gingerly, and cups my face with his other hand, effectively blocking us from our parents view. "May I?" he whispers.

Did he actually ask? I look up at him, top of my head level with his chin, I nod. He leans in, I close my eyes, his lips touch mine just slightly parted, warm and sweet, not intrusive. It lasts maybe a few seconds and sends a tickle down to my toes. Expecting it to be strange and off putting, I was shocked when I found it… pleasant.

Peeta looks at me with a small, boyish smile. How could this be? One engagement ended with a slap and another engagement sealed with a kiss all in less than a day?

"Okay, it's all done." Haymitch announces abruptly."You two will be able to get married this May when Katniss turns eighteen, but I'm sure you'd like to wait till school is done."

"Yeah- of course," Peeta says looking like he'd just been brought from some trance. "I'd like to be full time at the bakery before..." he swallows, as if just realizes it for the first time. "We get married."

Mr. Mellark stands, slaps Peeta on the back and smiles. "Well, Peeta it's getting late and we'll be lucky if Rhyes has not burnt the bakery down. Lily, Katniss hope to see you soon."

Peeta nods then waves to us, says a quiet 'bye' and leaves with his father. But not before turning to giving me a last look.

"I don't know about you Lily but I could use some coffee. Could you make us some while I talk to sweetheart?" Haymitch asks Mom.

"Of course, Haymitch is everything still where it has always been?" Mom replies, he nods.

When she leaves the room he looks at me seriously and uses his most sincere tone. "Katniss, I know that this has been a trying day but I have a request for you that I know you won't like. I think that you need to pretend that you and Peeta are madly in love and that's the reason for the broken contract. Let him be nice to you. Draw everyone's attention from Hawthorn and Mason. A merchant boy marrying a Seam girl is bigger news anyways."

I'm taken aback and ask sarcastically. "Why should I do that? Save Gale's reputation?"

"Not for Gale or Johanna. For the baby, you know what it's like to have mixed parentage. It'll have a hard enough time being the kid of a wild outsider and a social climbing, coal miner. Also it's for Rooba and Hazelle those poor women have had enough heartbreak; I'd like to limit gossip if we can."

I think and reason with myself, the poor kid deserved a chance. "Okay, but you'd better tell Peeta that too, so he can be in on it."

"Don't worry he's already there."


	3. Chapter 3

 

Peeta

I can't believe that everything has fell into place that has allowed this miracle to happen.

Going to school on this Monday morning I'm a happy man. Despite the fact that I woke up at 3 am instead of 4:30 to make up for all of the time lost over the weekend. Also my mother hit the roof when she found out about the marriage contract last night and tried to hit me with her liquor bottle. It was the first time in a while that she'd tried to 'discipline' me, the beatings more or less stopped about the time I started shaving, being clearly big enough to hit back. Not that I ever would. I could never hit a woman, no matter how mean she was.

Mom had been passed out at home when we were at the brokers. Dad had given her a full strength bottle of vodka, early in the day instead of one of the deluded ones we make up to stretch out the alcohol. Mom can't drink the cheap stuff like Mr. Abernathy. No, she had to have expensive vodka from the Capitol, so she could think that she was fooling people into thinking that she isn't a drunk. She thinks she has everyone fooled. I'm sad to admit it, but I'm relieved that she does not work at the bakery that much anymore.

"He could do so much better than a Seam whore; I don't care if she's half merchant. This is some sick way of you reliving your youth Hank!" Mom screamed as she waved her finger at my dad.

Dad explained her it was the best he could do with me being a third son and the newest restrictions on inter- bloodline marriage. We are related to just about every merchant family. Although he, my brothers and I all knew that that was a lie.

My dad told us boys a long time ago that he would do anything to ensure that our marriages would be happier than his was. My parents were quickly thrown together. Dad released his betrothed, the future Mrs. Everdeen, because she loved another. Mom had been dumped by hers, a beauty salon manager. He now lives with a 'roommate' and a couple of little dogs.

Ten years ago Graham fell in love with Jemma, whose parents were wealthy restaurant owners; she was highly sought after by all of the merchant boys. Dad had somehow managed to convince Jemma's parents that Graham's baking training would be more valuable than a large dowry to them in their business and that someday Graham would have a large share in the bakery or that one of us brothers would buy him out someday. They're now happily married and expecting their second baby.

For Rhyes, Dad had a harder time, seven years ago, he didn't so much care any particular girl he just didn't want to be a baker, not a morning person. It can be harder to find your son a new trade than a respectable wife. That's where the Cartwright family came in. Delly's parents had hoped to contract me since we were already close, playing together often as children. They were successful shoemakers, the hours were much more to Rhyes's liking and there would be room for him in the business. Delly's personality was such, that she could be happy with just about anyone and she'd had a crush on him. Her parents liked that Rhyes would have a bigger share in the bakery since he was older than me. Rhyes will marry Delly after her birthday this winter and he will start at the shoe store after the New Year.

I've loved Katniss since I was 5, Dad knew it and wanted to help me. He tried to keep tabs on her by buying her squirrels, even though it annoyed my mom. He was just as disappointed as I was when we heard she was contracted to Gale.

I was the only son with an interest in running the bakery. Dad offered me a deal that if I worked more hours than my brothers I could get a bigger share than typically was due me as a third son, my brothers were fine with that, especially Rhyes, fewer hours for him to work.

Approaching the school, I'm smiling I'm sure like an idiot and looking for Katniss, my fiancée. But instead I find my friend Wesley Vale, he is a merchant kid in my year.

"Hey did you hear about that hot Seam girl? The one you've always got you eye on." He waits for me to look interested, but I don't take the bait. "She dumped that Hawthorn guy and got some merchant guy convinced to marry her."

"Yeah," I can't help to smile. "I've heard that."

"How did you hear?" He asks.

I ignore him as I go finally see Katniss and approach her. How do I greet her? I would love to go hug her and full on kiss her the same way that other couples would greet each one another. Haymitch warned me tread lightly with her at first, 'she'll need a lot of convincing'. She walks up to me with my jacket in hand.

"Hey," she says, with a half smile. "You forgot this yesterday. Thank you, it was nice of you to offer it to me. "

I take a chance and put my arm around her shoulder and lightly kiss her temple. Glancing back at Wesley, who is standing there his mouth open wide in shock, I smile. "Well, I hope it kept you warm all the way home."

"It did." She then leans in to whisper in my ear. "So I see that you survived telling your mom, I was a little worried. I know how she can be,"

"She was mad, but that is her typical mood. She doesn't like my sister-in-law, Jemma or Delly either, and so you're in good company."

She rolls her eyes and asks quietly. "Are you ready to be gossiped about?"

"I don't care, it will be big talk for a while then the next thing will come along and we can live in peace."

"I just hope that this won't hurt Prim, she's fourteen now, she'll notice. I didn't let her walk with me today, I wanted people to see her with Rory, to confirm that they're still together." She put her arm around my waist as we walk. "Haymitch says we need to make this look good. So what's our story? I know that you're better with words than I am."

"How do you know that?" I ask my interest peaked, so she has noticed me.

"The way that you could talk Mrs. Fritz into giving you more time to do your homework cause you were so busy in the bakery. She was so mean; she would've made anyone else stand in the corner or do lines."

"What can I say? I've got a lot of experience with shrews." I say trying to sound light and I'm rewarded with a nearly full smile from Katniss. "Our story is that I've loved you since we were little and then using my charm and dashing good looks I got you to fall in love with me while you delivered squirrels to the bakery."

"Sounds like a good story to me, but maybe a little farfetched though." She says nodding her head.

"More believable than you'd think." I say more to myself than her.

Kids walk by, starring at us and whispering, both Merchant and Seam alike. I know that the very private Katniss is going to hate this. As long as I can say that she is with me I don't care. In fact I'm proud.

I give her another soft kiss on top of her head as part and go toward or separate classes, we share a couple of classes but not the first period. I can tell that I'm being talked about by the looks I'm getting. Delly runs at me and gives me a big hug.

"Rhyes told me last night, I'm super happy for you! I was getting worried about you, not having a contract yet."

"Thank you, Delly, you're the first one outside of my family to congratulate me."

"But I am family!" she laughs. "I gave Katniss a big hug when I saw her in science class, and told her that I can't wait to have her as a sister! I think I surprised her."

"Yeah," I chuckle to myself picturing the scene, Delly embracing Katniss, doing her little happy hug dance and squealing, Katniss just barely patting Delly in return. "She's not a hugger."

In our shared classes we sit in our assigned seats. We shoot each other smiles and looks randomly; she is uncomfortable, knowing that most of the class is watching us and not the teachers.

At lunch I spot Katniss setting with Madge Undersee, the mayor's daughter. Most people are shocked that they are friends, being from totally different walks of life. It seemed natural to me though; they're quite, smart and very pretty. They make most girls are green with envy.

"Hello ladies!" I say cheerfully, and nod to the empty next to Katniss. "Is this seat taken?"

"Of course not, you are welcome to join us." Madge invites me to sit. "I was just telling Katniss that I didn't know who is going to hate her more."

I give her a curious look, urging her to explain as I sit down and put my arm around Katniss' shoulder.

"The Seam girls are going to hate her for dumping Gale and Merchant girls are going to hate her for _finally_ snagging you."

Smiling as I reply. "I think that it will end up about even. Besides I don't think she'll get as much crap as I'll get, catching the prettiest girl in school. They're just jealous."

Katniss, blushes, leans in, and cups her hand to my ear and whispers. "It's okay, I've told Madge everything we can trust her."

"At least you guys know each other." Madge sighs. "I've only seen a picture of Tiberius, when he was 12. We're supposed to send each betrothal gift to one another soon, but I don't know what to send. His family is so well off that nothing from here will seem good enough."

Madge's dad had arranged a marriage for her with the son of district 2's mayor; he will come here this summer, so they can get married. He has been apprenticed as a mining engineer.

"Why don't you send a nice picture of you in a fancy frame or locket, I'm sure he'd like something like that." I suggest. I know I would feel like a pervert being nearly eighteen, looking at a picture of my fiancée at twelve years old, my skin crawls just thinking about it. It would be 'fantasy time' killer for me.

"Or even better I could have a painting done." Madge looks inspired, and gives me a smile. "Peeta do you still paint, could you do a portrait of me? I'll pay you."

"Yeah, I could do that," I reply. "We'll get together and get something figured out."

"You can paint?" Katniss raises an eyebrow, surprised. "That's something that I should know."

"Oh, yes he is really good."Madge answers before I could get a word out. "His brother hung some of Peetas's work in his restaurant. My dad even bought one, a picture of the meadow, said that it 'was as good as anything from district 1'."

I'm so glad that Madge is here, she makes me sound better than I am. Katniss would be shocked if she knew that there was an entire folder full of pictures of her, she is my favorite subject, not anything dirty though...Okay maybe a couple in my defense I am a teenage boy. I've never shared them with anyone. I keep them hidden under my mattress, like Graham used to do with his girly magazines. I should move them, after all I did find those mags.

The school day finally draws to a close. I may have gotten 5 or 6 real congratulations from my real friends. I offer to walk Katniss home from school. She tries to decline me, but Prim joins us and insists that I come along. 'Thank you cookies' I think to myself.

On the way Prim chatters happily, filling the silence. "Oh my goodness, I never saw so many upset merchant girls in my life! Beth Baley was in tears. She has been pretending that her parents were close to contracting you for a year."

"Huh, I've never heard about that." I lie, I had been sought after by several girls and parents alike but I didn't want a contract, I only wanted Katniss.

When I get them home, I get a big hug from Prim before she runs into the small shabby house. "Bye brother, see you tomorrow."

"My, that was fast." I say under my breath as Prim runs to the back of the house to check her goat.

"Yeah, really likes you and she is pretty pissed at Gale." Katniss admits softly, as she examines the ground.

"I'm glad she likes me, I always wanted a little sister." I say cheerfully, then follow more firmly. "And Gale is a jackass."

Standing in front of the door with Katniss is awkward, not knowing how to leave her. I know that she is uncomfortable; maybe I went too far mentioning Gale.

"I won't be able to walk you to school 'cause I work in the mornings," I say hoping to change the subject. "But I'll walk you home everyday till wrestling starts, you are more than welcome to come and watch, then I'll walk with you."

Katniss looks exasperated. "Peeta I don't know how to do whole this relationship thing. It didn't work out so well for me the first time."

"Well it's going to be different this time." I tell her confidently.

"How do you know?"

"I would never treat you like Gale did, I couldn't." I think about how I can explain without coming on too strong. "I want you to know that, I have every intention to actually court you, and try to get you to like me. We have the same chance at happiness as anyone does, if not better."

She looks at me curiously. "Court? Me? That's a strange idea; I'm not the type to be courted."

"Good thing I like a challenge." I announce. "Katniss, all we have to do is hang out during the week, spend some time together on the weekend visit each other's families, well maybe not my mom and let me take you out a couple of times a month. Will you try it?"

"I suppose I could." She agrees her eyes smile but her face doesn't.

Emboldened I hug her and whisper before I let her go. "You know we're supposed to be madly in love, you can start kissing me at anytime."

Katniss just rolls her eyes, gently smacks my shoulder and smiles a real smile. "Bye Peeta, see you at school."

I wave and turn to get back to the bakery, wondering if I've got what it will take to help her love me for real.


	4. Chapter 4

Katniss

It's the Saturday afternoon of the longest week of my life. Peeta and I have played our parts all week, although he is much better at it than I am. The only way that I can make it through is the fact that I have Peeta by my side, giving me strength, he makes _us_ believable. He can laugh off any nasty remark and look at me so lovingly that no one could doubt our story, corny as it is. In fact he's so good that I could almost believe it too. Almost.

His best performance yet was yesterday at lunch, Delly and a handful of his other friends had joined our table, at least a few have accepted us. I know that he has lost a few friends over all of this, but he doesn't seem to care.

Wesley Vale asked Peeta. "So how long have you two been in love?"

Peeta smiled and got a silly look on his face, as if he were reliving a moment. He must have been aware that more people were listening than our table, because his voice was loud and clear, the whole room went silent. "I've been in love with Katniss Everdeen since I was 5 years old. I was goner, from first day I saw her."

'Wow, he is good at this stuff', I thought as he continued with his story and wraped his arms around me. "My dad had pointed her out on my first day of school; she was so cute, in her little plaid red dress and her two pig tails. He told me, that he had been betrothed to her mother, but she instead married a coal miner. I asked him 'why would she do that when she could have had you?' He said 'because when the coal miner sings all the birds stop to listen'. I was skeptical. Then later that day in assembly the teacher asked if anyone knew the valley song. Katniss's hand shot up and she sang the entire song beautifully. I purposely listened for the birds outside, I swear, they stopped to hear her sing. I knew then, just like Mrs. Everdeen had been, that I was a goner and totally in love. And I have been ever since." I blushed, as he told the story, he had looked at me the entire time. He had spoken the last sentence softly as if he just wanted me to hear.

"Awe...How about you, Katniss?" Delly asked excitedly, I could tell that she was waiting another wonderfully spun tale. What Peeta said about the birds stopping to listen to my dad sing was true.

Panicked, not knowing what to say, I'd been caught. I had been so wrapped up in Peeta's story that I hadn't thought of a story of my own so I said. "I can't pin point a specific moment, he just won me over bit by bit." That sounds believable, right?

He kissed me sweetly, just like he had in Haymitch's office, maybe a little longer, it filled me with warmth, totally forgetting that we were surrounded by others. I really wanted another kiss but lunch was over the bell had rung. Peeta leaves me to go to class and now I'm so confused that I don't know how to feel. We're just pretending, aren't we? I remember singing on the first day of school, but I've never had a red plaid dress, have I? No wait, yeah I did, it was passed to Prim who wore it till was washed to rags. Oh shit, what kind of mess am I in?

I asked Peeta on the way our way home from school. "Our parents weren't really betrothed, were they?"

"Oh, yeah, you didn't know?"I shook my head and he continued. "They were betrothed really young; Dad says that they were close friends but nothing romantic. Then your mom met your dad when she was 18 and was totally smitten. Dad released her from her contract, as soon as she told him that she was in love, my dad just wanted her happy. Her father was mad at her and took her dowry away. He was going to throw her out into the street with nothing but the shirt on her back, my dad intervened and tried to get him to give you mom her dowry. She didn't get it back, but at least she got her house hold possessions."

Now I know why Mom's things are so precious to her and why I've never heard much about her youth. With a new perspective on my mom I thought, 'No wonder I've never her about her youth before'.

/

Later I'm going to meet Peeta at Madge's, to get her portrait started. This is part of our courting, I'm guessing. I'm interested in seeing his work, but nervous about spending time with Peeta even with Madge there. How do I feel about him? Thankful, maybe? Indebted? I hate owing a debt. That is no way to start a marriage, thinking that I owe him. Marriage, oh crap, I'm really going to marry him? It's starting to sink in.

I went hunting for the first time this week, it just isn't the same. I've been alone in the woods often, this was different though. When I was alone before I could tell myself that Gale would be with me next time, the thought itself would keep me company.

Gale Hawthrone. That name just makes me sick now. I get so mad when I think about him. What if we had already been married when he did… tha?. He made a promise to me when he signed our contract. He knew how I felt about 'consummating' our relationship even before we got engaged. Was it too much to ask to keep his dick in his pants? He had admitted to me that the used to be a regular at the slag heap, making out with girls, but that was over when we were betrothed. Was I naïve to think that he could go without? If I'd been more willing would he have been faithful? Someday I'll have to get answers but not now it's too fresh.

I go to the Hob, irritated, to trade on my meager haul, a rabbit, a sad late migrating goose and a possum which I'll keep for my family. Apparently I'm the most interesting thing at the market today. Whispers and heads follow me everywhere I go. Hungry and knowing she'll make me a deal on my smallish goose; I stop at Greasy Sae's booth. The old grizzled Seam woman greets me.

"Well, if it isn't the heartbreak queen." She says with a wink and a smile. "I hear you're moving up in the world."

"Sae please." I sigh, she's my friend and knows that I'm frustrated. "I just want to eat in peace. Besides, a certain person didn't leave me with too many options."

"Oh, I'm just teasing you." She says consolingly, as she pours me a bowl of soup. "Hawthorne himself told me the truth this morning. Don't worry I won't say anything. Can't say that I'm shocked, though, always noticed the two of them lately, him and Mason, making eyes at each other."

"Thanks for the heads up Sae." I retorted sarcastically. "So, do Mellark and I have the town fooled?"

"Judging by the way people have been talking, yes." She says genuinely. "That big blonde has had his eye on you too, for a long time, been turning down every merchant girl who tries to claim him. They say that the tailor's daughter shut herself up in her room crying for three days."

"Then he settled on the poor Seam girl in a pinch?" I ask "Why would he do that?"

"Maybe he just really likes squirrel." She says with a smile. "Don't know what you're upset about. I wouldn't mind that hunk of a man tossing me into bed like a big sack of flour, kneading me all over, getting my oven warmed up."

I gagged on my soup and nearly choke, taken aback by her unexpected, naughty comment. I'm already sort of a prude. "Sae! That was so wrong!" I cough, and try to collect myself.

"What?" she says before breaks into a cackling laugh. "I'm old, not dead."

/

After dropping off my game bag and changing into a clean shirt and jeans at my house, I head to the mayor's residents. I have been there a few times; it's the nicest house in district 12, big, bright and well kept, but very lonely. Madge is an only child, her mom is often ill and relies on morphling for relief, and her dad is always busy. Almost every girl is envious of Madge, but I know that she would trade all of her fancy clothes and spacious rooms for someone to share her life with. I truly hope that Tiberius is a good guy and can give her the affection and companionship she deserves.

I knock on the door, Madge answers. "Hello come in, make yourself at home."

Strange comment, I think to myself, nothing about this place feels like a home, too big, fancy, devoid of life and sterile.

"I'm so glad you came early, I've got some clothes that I've out grown, and you're smaller than me and they will fit you well." She takes by the hand and leads me upstairs. "And before you refuse me, know that they will do nothing but hang in my closet if you don't take them."

Madge takes me to her closet which is bigger than my kitchen at home. Picking out dresses, sweaters, blouses and skirts, the depositing them on her bed. Then a thought hits me, I'm going to have to trade in my well broken in boots and my father's hunting jacket for 'respectable' dresses. "Madge I can't take these." I say in earnest."What would I do with them?"

"Well wear them of course! This is not charity. You'll be helping me make room, honestly. Tiberius and I are going to live here after we're married. I need to clear out half of the closet… or maybe a third of it. " She says happily. "You're going to be a merchant's wife soon; you'll need to look the part every now and then. Plus they're just not for you, with some altering Prim can take some too. " There she hit my weak spot Prim, I'll have to take them now.

"Please don't remind me about being a merchant's wife." I mock whine, then look at her soberly. "This is going to change who I am, isn't it? I mean, last week I was going to be a coal miner's wife, this week I'm going to be a baker's wife."

"You're going to be Peeta's wife." She corrects me. "He won't expect you to change and he really likes you the way you are."

Our conversation stops when we hear a knock at the door, Madge and I answer it. Peeta has bag of art supplies in one hand and a pastry box in the other. "Hello ladies, I brought your Mom's order from the bakery. Goat cheese tarts."

"Oh, those are for us I thought that we could have tea and tarts." Madge says.

"That will be a treat!" Peeta says. "I usually only get these when they're very stale, never had a fresh one all to myself."

"Really?" I say in disbelief. "I figured that you ate stuff like this all the time."

"Oh no, they're too pricey." He says, shaking his head slightly. "Most of what we eat is stale, Mom says that we couldn't afford to lose the profit off of the fresh stuff and that we couldn't just waste the old bread."

"Oh." I feel little ashamed, I just always pictured the baker's family feasting on hardy, fresh bread and pastries. Lately I've come to find that Peeta's life as a merchant had not been as easy as I had imagined. Being a baker was not cushy; heaving 100 pound sacks of flour, burn scars from the oven covered his arms. One ingredient wrongly measures would ruin an entire batch of bread. He worked both before and after school and on the weekends. This had been part of a deal with his dad to earn a bigger portion of the bakery so he could someday buy his brothers out.

"But don't worry _sweetheart_." He says brightly, knowing that I hate that endearment. Peeta puts his hands on my shoulders and kisses the tip of my nose playfully. "I'm not stingy like my mom. We're going to eat fresh bread every day. Stale bread will be only used only as stuffing in the birds you kill. "

Madge gives me a smile that seems to say 'I told you so'.

A little while later, after we ate the delicious tarts baked by Peeta made with the Prim's cheese, I watch Peeta start the portrait. He poses Madge in a window seat, washed in light. She is wearing a soft pink dress that perfectly complements her porcelain skin, long bright blond hair, and pale blue eyes. Madge is very pretty, buxom with a small waist and several inches taller than me. She is everything that little merchant girls want to grow up to be and what merchant boys hope to marry. The type of girl that everyone thought Peeta should marry.

Peeta teases Madge, to get her to smile, testing different ones to see which seems most appropriate. "This picture needs to whisper to Tiberius 'I can't wait for our wedding night, baby'," He says huskily, then follows lightly. "But your grandchildren will be should be able to look at it without feeling awkward."

We all laugh. Madge looks amused and at ease.

"There we go, that's the look I want." Peeta says with triumph.

Watching him as he works, I am amazed; so intense and focused, as if there was nothing but him and his canvas. I study his face, the fairness of his skin, the set of his square jaw, the small dimple on his cheek and the slope of his nose. Yet by far his best feature is his eyes, large and intensely blue, now in the light I can see his long thick lashes, golden in color they are hard to see normally, so long in fact I don't see how they don't get tangled together when he blinks. Unconsciously I focus on his lips, slightly parted as he concentrates on his work, thinking of how they felt on my own. A chill rises up my spine as I think about yesterday's kiss. I enjoyed it. Would every kiss with him be like that? Maybe I should kiss him again when I have the chance, just to see.

We stay at Madge's for a few of hours. Peeta has a good start on the painting but has much work to do on it yet. We make pleasant conversation as he walks me home and carries my box of clothes. I tell him the story of how I once evaded a little black bear in the woods. He tells me about icing his first cake, how proud his dad was, and how mom said that he messed it up. (Big surprise there.)

Our kiss has been on my mind since earlier today. When Peeta delivers me to my door I think about kissing him, curious about how it will feel just being the two of us alone.

"Thanks for carrying my stuff." I say and take a step closer to him.

"Well it was a pleasure to spend time with you today." He says in a low voice, he must of had a sense of what I contemplating doing, because he sets the box on the porch and closes the gap between us. Peeta wraps an arm around my shoulders, and tilts his head down closer to my level. "We'll have to do this more often."

I can feel his breath on my lips, heat radiates off his body, in the cool evening air. He is so close, I close my eyes, ready to lean in. Then I hear the last voice in the world that I would like to hear. Gale.

"Hey, Catnip." Gale says loudly, stepping out from around the corner of the house. Obviously knowing what he has broken up, as we both take a step back from each other.

"Hey, Hawthorne!" Peeta says in annoyed tone, as he steps in front of me.

"Mellark, could I talk to Katniss alone…please?"

Peeta looks back at me. "You okay with that?" I nod. "I'm going to take this box inside the house, call for me if you need anything." Peeta then lets himself into the house.

"I see you're getting chummy with baker boy." Gale says with an edge in his voice.

"Don't you think that I should be? He is going to be my husband." I retort. "Besides I'm no where as near as _chummy_ with him as you are with Johanna."

"Sorry…I didn't come to argue." He says apologetically.

"Why did you come?"

"I-I…I just wanted to tell you that Johanna and I are going to be toasting on Friday."

"That's good. Your baby won't be a bastard now. Don't expect me for cake." I say bitterly. "If that is all, you can go now."

He looks at solemnly and in a hushed tone tells me. "There is something else...Darius came to see us today in the butcher shop."

Darius is a Peacekeeper, he is young and is the most likable of them all.

"And so?" I urge.

"He said that they're expecting the new head inspector to come for a visit sometime this winter, I guess he's a real dick, imagine that." He looks to me for a reaction, I give him none, so he continues. "Darius told us to be careful trading for game, don't hang it in the display or advertise it. He also said that they will be cracking down on the Hob and that the fences will be electrified more often. Hunters and all other law breakers will be severely punished, if they're caught while the inspector is here. I thought that you needed to know to be more careful or just quit all together."

"You know that isn't an option." I say matter of factly. "Thank you for the warning, goodbye Gale."

He looks as if he wants to say more, instead he turns on his heal and leaves. Why did he have to come and ruin my night? It had been so nice.


	5. Chapter 5

Peeta

Kneading dough helps me release tension, which is what I have a lot of right now. Alone in the bakery, I'm thinking about how Gale ruined my moment with Katniss last night. We were so close to kissing and she had actually initiated it. Then Hawthorne had to go and bring it to a screeching halt. Katniss's mood was totally altered when I found her alone on her porch after his visit, I could tell that she just wanted to be alone, so I gave her a hug and left without much conversation.

I'm starting to worry a little. Had she really been in love with Gale? Does it matter now, we're betrothed, and she's going to be my wife no matter what now, right? I want her to be my wife because she wants to be, not because she hasn't any other option. Sorting out these thoughts as I work on the dough in the bakery's kitchen, I don't notice the door swing open till I heard a loud voice.

"ALRIGHT DOUGH BOY!" This can be only one person, Johanna. "This is your last opportunity! You and me, right here, right now, buck ass naked, oiled up, I'm going to teach you how to wrestle _lumberjack_ style!"

"No thanks, Johanna, haven't you heard I'm engaged now." I laugh; Johanna can make me laugh like no one else can. She gives me a big hug.

"Oh, come on!" She whines with a smile. "Good thing about it is that you can't knock me up because I already am. I just want to find out if what I've heard is true."

"What have you heard?" I ask having no clue what she's talking about.

She looks at me and says wryly. "That your _breadstick_ is **huge** and that's why Everdeen dumped Hawthorne."

"You're a pervert Johanna." I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Is that what people are saying."

"No," she says in a sing songy way. "But that's the rumor that I'm spreading around. Gale doesn't think it's funny, which makes it even better."

"Speaking of asshole, um I mean Gale, I heard you're toasting with him on Friday."

"Yes, I see you've heard my happy news!" She replies brightly and hops on the counter. "Also I heard that he canceled your tongue fight last night."

"Yeah, like I said asshole."

"He said that it was payback for that sucker punch last week." She said. "Cause of you and Everdeen bruising his pretty face all up, we had to push the wedding back a week."

"Sorry," I say insincerely. "How are the toasting plans coming?"

"I'm here about a cake actually. I was thinking about something covered in bows, arrows and axes, maybe a few skulls, but nothing garish."

"Now you know I can't do a cake that Aunt Rooba won't like." I tell her, imagining the verbal trashing I'd get from my aunt. "She'll want something more 'traditional'."

"You mean girly." Johanna frowns at me. "In that case, I'll just let you decide, you _are_ my best girlfriend in district 12."

"Thanks Johanna! What makes you say that?"

"You know…you make pretty flowers on cakes and cookies, you're sensitive, considerate and shit, all the stuff that chicks usually are."

I can tell by the tone in her voice that it was an invitation to talk to her honestly, setting with her on the counter and I ask. "How are you really Johanna?"

"Actually I'm pretty happy." She says in a much more sincere tone. "This is the first time in years that I might get to gain something and not to lose it. Peeta, I've lost so much over the past ten years. First I lost my mom, then my brother, and my dad. I got a little reprieve when I came here and met Ward, but I lost him just as quickly as I found him... Fucking chicken pox at 21 years old!" Getting a little teary eyed, she stops and whips her big brown eyes. Putting my hand on her shoulder, she continues. "But now I've got this little thing growing inside me and I feel hopeful for first time in a long time."

"How about Gale, how do you feel about him?" I ask, hating to think of Johanna in a loveless marriage like my parents.

"I like him, a lot and it could be love but I don't know. We can be happy I think we have things in common." She admits. "I know that you're not a big fan of his, but he has got his good points too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I got to know him when he would bring in game to the shop. We would flirt and then we started talking about the woods. Becoming friends, one night he snuck me under the fence out into the woods. We would set on a big rock under a maple tree and it felt like home. He and I just spent hours talking, and I had so much fun. It happened just like that a few times, then one night I kissed him and it went further than I had planned. We swore that it would not happen again, but it did… a lot." She trails off and looks at me. "Peeta I'm twenty-three, I've been widowed for three years and I was lonely. None of this was planed but I can't say that I'm sorry about what happened. Although I'm sorry about all of the people we've hurt and disappointed."

"You know I think that Aunt Rooba is really excited about the baby." I tell her, knowing that Johanna was worried about hurting my aunt. Rooba has been like a mother to her.

Johanna had in the course of her story, rested her head on my shoulder. I was rubbing her back softly. Then I knew this sensitive moment had passed when she looked up at me and said in a playful voice. "See, you _are_ the best girl friend that I've ever had, dough boy. Can we braid each other's hair now?"

"No, neither one of us has enough hair to braid." I say sarcastically. "Besides, I'm not your 'girlfriend'."

"Can I see you massive junk then, to prove it to me, that you're a man?" She jokes. "I'm telling you, this is your last chance, come on I'm at that sweet spot in my pregnancy where my boobs are bigger but nothing else is."

I hear a knock on the back door, there is only one person who knocks at the back door on Sundays, Katniss to deliver squirrels. 'Oh, this is going to be good' I think. Clearly I am hesitating answering the door, not knowing how their encounter will go.

"Better get the door, dough boy." Johanna tells me.

I hop off of the counter, and open the door and noticed that it had not been latched; Johanna must not have closed it hard enough. Sure enough it's Katniss, game bag in hand.

"Good morning!" I try to say cheerfully. "Come on in."

"Morning, Peeta," I'm shocked when she, throws her arms around me and gives me a quick peck on the lips. Looking around and she sees Johanna. "I see that you're busy, I'll come back."

"Don't leave on my behalf _Catnip_." Johanna says hopping off the counter. "I was just leaving I have some wedding plans to attend to. By the way are we going to get to have the honor of your attendance at the toasting?"

"Sorry no, Johanna." I apologize, before Katniss has to answer. "I have to watch the bakery so Dad and Rhyes can go. If you're really lucky my mom may even show up if you spike the punch."

"Oh, that's right." Johanna says. "Mental note to self, no alcohol at the toasting, if I can't have any than no one should. See you around Peeta. By the way I like the chocolate, for the cake." Johanna gives Katniss a funny little wave, as she passes her on her way to the door. I can see the Katniss fighting to keep her composure, redness creeping on her cheeks.

"Bye Johanna, and good luck." I tell her as she leaves. Then I look to Katniss, I would like to embrace her but I'm not sure if that is a good idea. "So, how are you today?"

"Fine," she looks at me with an eyebrow cocked up. "Dough boy?"

"Yeah, Johanna always calls me and my brothers that." I say. "So how long were you at the door, I never took you for an ease dropper."

Katniss was a little embarrassed knowing that she had been caught. "Not long."

"You're a terrible liar." I tease her.

"I didn't know that you two were close." She says quietly.

"We got to be really good friends after my cousin died." I tell her honestly. "I really like Johanna, she is a better person than she lets on, although I can see why you wouldn't like her."

"I don't blame her as much as I blame Gale." Katniss says as she examines her game bag. "After all, he was engaged not her. It was his responsibility."

I don't know what to say, I feel like I need to say something and so I say sincerely. "I'm sorry that he broke your heart."

"Well don't be, because I'm not heartbroken, or at least I don't think I am." Her admission surprises me. "I've known heartbreak, I've seen it, and this does not feel like that. I'm not heartbroken, I'm mad that I was betrayed. He took her to our meeting spot. The rock under the maple tree, that's where we would meet to hunt."

"Oh," I say, just to fill the silence. Then an idea hits me and then I ask in an upbeat tone. "You know what always makes me feel better, when I'm upset?"

"What is that?" Katniss asks, looking up into my eyes, her interest peaked.

"Kneading dough!" I tell her proudly, she laughs a little and grab her by the hand to the counter. We wash our hands and then I show her how to work the dough. "Just back and forth just like this."

She seems to be watching me intently, with an odd look in her face. "I don't know Peeta, I'm not too good at baking."

"Oh, this is easy!" I guide her in front of me, so that I'm standing behind her, I place her hands on the dough with my own, and start working the dough. When I started this I hadn't thought about how physically close it would bring us, having her close to me like this nearly too much. Her body next to mine, it feels better than I could have ever imagined. I can smell her lilac scented soap, and feel the strength in her hands as she works the dough. Deciding after a while that I had better back away from her before I get hard and things get, awkward, I take a step back.

"Feel better?" I ask her.

"Yeah, a little." She admits and then she changes the subject. "Hey, I've got some squirrels to trade for bread."

"You know we are engaged." I remind her. "You can get bread for free now."

"No, I don't!" She says firmly. "I will support myself and my family until we're married. You are not to deal with me any differently than you ever have and I'm serious about that."

"Okay," I say and my hands rise in surrender. "I will not be overly generous with you, but you have to agree to something with me in return."

"What's that?" She asks suspiciously.

"You have to, on occasion, let me be nice to you, and treat you to something special every now and then." I look her in the eye. "Can you do that?"

She looks annoyed. "I suppose."

"Good, now how many squirrels do you have for me today? And what do you want in trade."

"Two chubby squirrels," She says lightly, happy to deal. "I want my favorite, cheese buns. They're worth 6 buns I think."

I examine the squirrels. "Yes, I can do that. I'll throw in two more buns if you skin them for me."

"Alright." She says as she goes to the sink. We settle into a comfortable silence. Katniss was skinning her game and me returning to my work, happy that it is slow in the shop today.

When she finishes, I bag up her rolls.

"Do you want to take some cookies to take home?" I ask.

"No, I thought that we agreed about this." She says looking at me square in the eye.

"Yeah we did," I agree. "This will be one of those 'nice things' you're going to let me do for you."

"No, it is not." Katniss says firmly but with a smirk on her face.

"Okay, then we'll barter."

"But I've got nothing left to trade." She confesses.

"Oh, yes you do." I tell her, approaching her place my hands on her shoulders. "I'll tell you what, I'll give you three cookies for one _real_ kiss. How does that sound."

Instead of a verbal response she closes the gap and on her tippy toes leans in. Her lips find mine, her arms around my waist, mine around her shoulders. I marvel in how small, yet powerful she feels in my embrace. The kiss starts warm and innocent, and then quickly deepens, lips parted. I test my boundaries dart my tongue into her mouth slightly, she does not recoil so I try it again, and my mine is met by hers. We kiss till until the need for air is too great to ignore.

Hearing an oven timer ring, Katniss jumps back, lips swollen and cheeks red. I remove the bread from the oven, then I sack up three iced sugar cookies. Handing Katniss the bag I tell her. "That was an unfair trade."

She gives me a confused look.

"That kiss was worth and least a dozen cookies."

She rolls her eyes, and shakes her head, and turns to leave. "See you tomorrow Peeta."

"Bye, Katniss." I say and then I think to myself with a smile, 'if she was eaves dropping I certainly hope that she heard the part about my bread stick being huge'.


	6. Chapter 6

Katniss

I'm lying in my bed, half asleep; I feel warm breath in my ear. "Wake up sleepy head; it's time to get up." I hear a deep voice say. Upon opening my eyes, I gasp, and see none other than, Peeta, shirtless, in my bed.

"What are you doing in my bed?" I ask shocked, Peeta on his hands and knees hovering above me. I'm then aware that I am also, shirtless and pant less, oh shit, I'm naked.

Kissing my mouth then trailing down to my collar bone, speaking in between each kiss he says. "Oh this isn't… _your_ bed… this is… _our_ bed… my beautiful… wife." His hands are all over my body, kneading my breasts; the warmth from his hands feels soo good. He gives me a mischievous smile then taking my nipple in his mouth. But before I can register how it feels, I am called to wake by Prim. I'm not sure if I'm more relieved or disappointed that it was only a dream. 'Damn you Sae, for planting those dirty thoughts in my mind' I think. I can't watch Peeta working in bakery now in the same way.

Sex dreams are just one of the many new experiences that I had since getting engaged to Peeta last month. Jealousy was totally foreign before, it was why I finally walked in on Peeta and Johanna's conversation and then threw my arms around and kissed him a few weeks ago. I wanted to let her know that Peeta was mine. Seeing as how she'd already taken one fiancé away from me, she was not going to get Peeta too. Yet I felt a little bad about thinking that way about Johanna after hearing her story, and finding out that she and Peeta were close.

A couple of weeks ago he took me out to dinner, it was those 'nice things' that I have to let him do, was also new to me. Peeta took me to his brother and sister-in-law's restaurant. Even in my fancy hand me downs that I got from Madge, I felt out of place with my olive skin and dark hair, being surrounded judgmental blue eyed, blonde merchants. Sensing my discomfort Peeta suggested that eat in the kitchen that way we could visit with Graham, Jemma and their toddler Jack, I like them very much. Jemma was very down to earth and hard working. Graham reminds me very much of Mr. Mellark, only more talkative.

Peeta played with his little nephew, picking Jack up and tossing him in the air, telling him silly stories. Jemma told me that 'Peeta was by far little Jack's favorite uncle and that he was a natural with kids'. Watching Peeta with Jack gave me another new experience, thinking about children, our children, it both excited and frightened me, I quickly pushed the thought away.

Graham told us about Johanna and Gale's toasting. "Peeta's cake was a beautiful as always. Johanna smashed a piece into Gale's face; it's a district 7 thing, I think. You missed Mom's little outburst."

"Oh no, what did she do this time?" Peeta asked rolling his eyes.

"Well she started off by saying that she felt like a 'cotton ball in a coal mine', being surrounded all of the Hawthornes." Jemma volunteered, she obviously was not a big fan of the eldest Mrs. Mellark. "Then she started to rip Johanna a new one, blaming her you two's betrothal, she said 'if you weren't so loose then my family wouldn't be mixing with coal mining trash'. Johanna just laughed, Aunt Rooba was madder that I've ever seen her; I thought that she was going to slap your mom. I was a little disappointed when she didn't."

We all laughed, hearing about the toasting did not upset me like I thought it would.

Then Graham looked at me and said. "Don't worry about Mama Mellark; Jemma is too wealthy, Delly is too cheerful, you're from the wrong end if the district. None of us are good enough for her, not even her own sons."

I truly had a good time, I got to see Peeta's paintings, and they were amazing. When the night was over Peeta and I shared another deep kiss, being held in his arms I felt something inside awaken; a hunger of sorts is all that I can liken it to. He left abruptly, after parting from Peeta I felt frustrated, deprived. Had I been alone in the house I may have been tempted to 'take care of it' myself, which is something that I've never even thought about before.

Yet, the most frightening new experience is the idea that I might _actually_ be falling in love with Peeta. It feels like I'm pretending less and less, I think about Peeta to the point of distraction when I'm away from him. A big part of me scared to death to love him too much, love like that only leads to heartbreak.

"Come on wake up, we'll be late for school, it's at least Friday." Prim says happily, flipping her long blonde braid behind her back, pulling back into reality. "What's the matter, I thought that you were going hunting this morning?"

"I did, but the fence was on, so I came back home and went back to bed." The fence has been on randomly lately trying to discourage people from sneaking out, getting ready for the inspection, it's suppose to happen sometime in January or February. Cray's job is on the line, no one likes him but according most people he is better than most Head Peacekeepers.

"Oh," she said with understanding. "That's the second time this month. What are we going to do? "

"We could always eat Buttercup." I tease Prim. She loves that rotten old yellow tom cat, he hates me, and the feeling is mutual.

"Oh, Katniss." Prim shoves me playfully. "That was so mean."

I think about our situation, I honestly have no clue of how we're going to manage. Hunting exclusively on my own has not been overly successful; we have food but nothing to trade for goods. The fact that's its December does not help either, the weather has been wet and many of the animals are hibernating. I had tried to stock up earlier this fall, but it would not last the whole winter, especially if it was hard.

Mom says that I should tell Peeta about the upcoming inspection, but I don't want to. He'll hear about eventually anyways. I know that he'll ask me not to hunt, not to risk getting caught, and Peeta will insist on helping us out. And if he asks me I don't know if I could deny him, like the whole cookies for kisses deal. I still can't believe that I did that. Lately I've been coming to find that I have very little resistance to him in more ways than one. If he were to push me the way that Gale did I may not have the power to say stop. I hate feeling weak. But I'm pretty sure that Peeta would not do that, he is too much the gentleman, I would certainly have to ask him.

This week wrestling practice started, wrestling is how our school keeps us entertained during winter months since we can't go outside. Peeta is the defending champion, he won easily after Rhyes graduated, and he had been Peeta's only real competition and was bigger. I've been staying after school to watch him, let's just say that maybe that's why I have had a break down in my prudishness. Peeta in his practice clothes is a sight to see, his muscular arms are well defined, his chest is broad and is covered in a small patch of golden hair. Until recently I'd never seen his legs, they're muscular and well shaped too, I've never been one to check out a guy's ass before but I've noticed his, it's nice. I avoid looking at his crouch, I get red faced just thinking about it, the 'breadstick' comment in the back of my mind. Is he really bigger than average?

He mostly helps the coach with the younger boys, since there isn't too many guys his size to compete with. There is one kid bigger than Peeta and that is Casper Boyle, he reminds me of an animal that I saw in a book once, a gorilla, a big, blonde gorilla. He has said some fairly nasty comments about me in the past. Peeta does not care too much for him; they just glare at each other.

My day at school flies by, all of my time with Peeta does now. People have now more or less gotten over the whole seam/merchant romance and have moved on, except for a few of the more bitter merchant girls. Walking past a group of sour faced, merchant girls I heard a remark that I am sure that I was meant to hear, 'you won't get to keep him for long'. Beth Baley, the fifteen year old, horse-faced, tailor's daughter, gave me a dirty look. The rumor going around is that her parents had tried for years to get Mr. Mellark to contract Peeta to their daughter but had been told that there was another deal in the works. I try not to listen to rumors because a month ago I was supposed to be six months pregnant with Peeta's twins and I threatened him to marry me at arrow point.

But, I still find it hard to believe that Peeta hadn't been betrothed before, I what to ask why, but I'm a little afraid of the answer.

I'm going to have to skip watching Peeta today. Delly asked Jemma and I to go with her after school to help her pick out a china pattern, our future mother-in-law insisted that she has "good" dishes. Rhyes marries Delly on New Years Eve, which is fast approaching. Delly is embracing this whole sister thing, I hate to confess that I am too, a little. We had a good time, I had never been the china store before, I liked all of the pretty things but decided that they was too impractical to waste money on, I guess that old Mrs. Mellark will just have one more reason to be upset with me when I get married to her youngest son.

Heading back to the school to meet Peeta, I find the gym empty of everyone but Peeta, he is putting away the wrestling mats.

"Hey there, beautiful!" He calls out to me.

I look around, pretending to search for someone. "I don't know who you're talking to because it can't be me." I tease.

He meets me with a hug and a gentle kiss. "Of course, I'm talking about you. I think that you are the most amazingly beautiful woman that I've ever seen."

"Oh, stop it." I roll my eyes and lightly slap his shoulder.

"Hey, no, hitting me." He says playfully. "Don't make me defend myself."

I push my luck; really what would he do to me? I hit him again, smiling, look in square in the eyes.

"Okay, that's it!" Peeta picks me up throws me over his shoulder like I was nothing, carries me over to the mats, and gently throws me down on them, we play wrestle for a while. Then he catches me in a wrestling hold, pinning him to the ground under him. "Ha ha, I've got you now!"

"Peeta, stop it!" I try to sound annoyed but instead I giggle. It feels good just to play with Peeta, it's like recapturing a part of my lost childhood. Trying to wrestle back, Peeta gives me a little slack and I roll us over and my hands on his chest, my legs straddling his waist. "No, I've got you." I say triumphantly.

"Okay, you win."He smiles. "Now what are you going to do with me?" Peeta asks as he plays with my hair, my braid had come lose during our mock fight. He pulls me close, our noses nearly touching, looking at me with those beautiful, big, deep blue eyes.

"I honestly have no clue." I admit, brushing his hair off his brow. Then something over takes me, a sudden urge to kiss him. So I give into it. Pressing my lips to his, this kiss accelerates much faster than any other we ever shared. We moan into each other's mouths, as our kiss goes deeper than ever before. Peeta wraps his arms around me, my hands tangled in his hair. Suddenly Peeta pulls backs gasping for air. "We'd better stop…," he breathes. "Before we…" He seems to be looking for the right words. Peeta speechless, this is new.

"Before we what?" Asking disappointedly, I lean back to study him then I sense something hard as I scoot further down his waist. I can feel my eyes go big and my face go red. "Oh!...sorry."

"Please, don't be, I'm sorry." He laughs, also red faced. "As I was saying, before we get caught, carried away, or embarrassed. Oh wait, we already did that last one or two." Peeta laughs nervously; I start to giggle too, burying my face in his chest. We just lie there a few moments until Peeta gets 'settled' then we walk home.

As we make our way to the Seam Peeta strikes up a conversation. "Hey dad and I were talking, we're going to need some help when Rhyes gets married, and we were wondering if you would like to work at the bakery part time."

This is exactly what my family and I need, but I don't want charity, even if it is from Peeta. I think I know why he has offered. "You've heard about the inspection, haven't you?"

"Yes," he says seriously. "But that is not the only reason why I'd like you to take the job."

"Why do you want me to take the job?" I ask. "You know that I can't bake."

"I want you to take the job because we need help," He sounds honest; he stops us and turns me to look into his eyes. "I want to spend more time with you. And Dad thought it would be good training for when we're married. You can take inventory, run the front of the store, clean up a little, you wouldn't have to bake, but we could teach you… if you wanted us to."

"No, I'll leave the baking to you." I say, Peeta is looking at me with his big blue eyes, my resolve is melting. "Okay, I'll take the job, on the condition that you do not treat me any differently than you would anyone else."

"I won't make any promises, but I'll try." He says with a happy smile, and then he changes the course of conversation. "Too bad about the inspection, I was hoping that you would take me out to the woods soon. I want to see the famous huntress in action. Maybe we could go out there before the inspectors come."

"You really want to go out there?" I ask seriously.

"Yeah, with you out there to protect me I might come back alive." He smiles.

The thought of Peeta out in the woods, hunting strikes me as odd, but intriguing, I was willing if he was. "Maybe, we could, they won't be here for another few weeks."

A date was made for Sunday.

As I lie in bed trying to get to sleep I am more confused than ever. I think that I might just be truly in love with Peeta, I don't know for sure. I know that I like to spend time with him, I know that he is maybe the best man alive in district 12. Certainly I know that I am attracted to him, this is the thought that I cling to, the way he makes my body react when I am in his arms his lips pressed to mine. Thankfully I am alone in the house, Mom and Prim are delivering a baby, and will be gone for hours.

So I move my hands down to my center, imagining that my hand are his, and do what I have never done before, the whole time thinking of no one and nothing else but Peeta. Finally I am satisfied and drift off to sleep only to dream of him again.


	7. Chapter 7

Peeta

I watch my breath curl and drift in the cold early morning air as I walk to the spot where I am to meet Katniss, consumed as always by thoughts of her and our future life together, from the time that I wake early in the morning until I fall asleep at night.

I think about her a lot at night I hate to confess because these thought are typically dirty. Allowing myself at night to enjoy 'fantasy time', this is code for jerking off. Dreams about Katniss have been a frequent occurrence ever since I hit puberty. But now that I've actually gotten to kiss and hold her, feeling her body against mine, it has only become more like an everyday thing. Now that I have a better understanding of what her body feels like against mine.

Imagining what our wedding and other nights together in our bed will be like drives me insane. During the day I have to contain myself try to push away naughty thoughts in fear of becoming aroused. How in the hell am I going to be able to function when she starts working at the bakery?

As consumed as I am with thoughts of our upcoming physical relationship, the pure love that I have for her is ever present. I can't wait to share my life with her, to rely on one another, I want to do everything I can to insure us a happy life. Spending my life with this beautiful, smart, independent, amazing girl, has been my life's goal since I was five years old. I want so badly to tell her how much I truly love her, but she's not ready yet I think.

Obviously I know that Katniss is not in the same place as me but I think that she is coming along. I can't help but to be encouraged by some of our little moments, she's a will participant. Friday after practice, I thought that I had gone too far and freaked her out, but she just laughed and just laid there with me.

Although, for all of my happiness I can't help but to feel like there is a dark cloud hanging over us, maybe I'm just paranoid. I'm not sure what exactly I fear, it's not Gale, he and Johanna are married and Katniss has told me herself that she was not heartbroken by his actions. (Deep down I'll always be a little glad that Hawthorne is a horny bastard.)

Spotting Katniss approaching the fence gives me a thrill. She looks stunning even bundled in her over large hunting jacket and her worn boots, she is beautiful in everything. Waving the bag of cheese buns that I've brought for her, I call out. "Good morning, I brought you breakfast."

She smiles and shakes her head. "I suppose that I should share some of my tea with you then. No sugar, right?"

"Yes, how did you know?" I catch her in a hug and give her soft kiss; she wraps her arms around my waist.

"I notice things about you." She says shyly. Then she says in a matter of fact way. "We'd better get going; I like to get in the woods before sun rise. First we listen to see if the fence is on."

We pause and hear no electrical buzz; we crawl under a loose wire and enter the woods. Katniss approaches a tree and pulls out a bag and withdraws her bow and quiver, she also pulls out a large knife in a sheath and hands it to me. "Just in case we would run into something."

I nod my head, trying to be as quiet as possible, which is something that Katniss briefed me about. It's difficult going though, the leaves crunch under my feet. She told me that most predators would run from us but you never know when you would come a crossed one disparate enough to attack.

Entering the frost covered woods I am overwhelmed by its beauty, 'I'll have to bring my sketch pad with me someday' I think. I can almost see Katniss physically change into hunting mode totally in her element, her bow poised. Walking behind her I just watch her in all her glory, she belongs her here. My mind starts to wonder, would she ever let me make love to her out in the woods after we get married? Starting to feel a stirring in my jeans, as images of Katniss laid out on a blanket under me on the forest floor, looking into my eyes while moaning my name; quickly I try to bring myself back into the here and now.

Instead I think of how she braved all that dangers that this place holds, as a small girl just to feed those she loves, pride and admiration in her grows. I watch in awe as she quickly collects a couple of rabbits from snares and her arrow pierces a squirrel in the eye. I hold her game bag, carrying her haul.

"Come on let's eat some cheese buns, they smell so good." She says and leads me to a fallen tree and we sit, and eat. Katniss pulls out a flask wrapped in a rag, takes a drink then hands it to me and asks. "So what do you think? You've not said much, I've never seen you quiet. Well except when you paint, you're different then."

"I've been trying to stay silent, and I'm just enjoying watching you. It's amazing out here; I'd like to come out with you more often." I say honestly, while enjoying the warmth of the tea in my hand. "You're different too, out here you know."

"My dad used to say that too." She says as she meets my eyes. "I feel happier out here, it makes me feel closer to him, thinking of all that time I spent with my dad here, hunting, singing and playing. Then when I go home I remember he's gone…"

I reach out to brush a stray hair out of her face and then cup her face, her eyes glimmer with tears that don't fall. "You really miss him, don't you?"

She nods and I put my arms around her, her head on my shoulder. Sensing that she doesn't want to speak just now, I fill the silence. "You know I remember your dad, from when he would trade game at the bakery. Everyone liked him. He would sing everywhere he went; I would watch him, waiting for the birds to stop their song to listen to his. And they would stop to listen to him just like they do for you."

"It's been so long since I've sang, it hurts too much. I'll sing for Prim if she begs me to but that's it, she has to sick or really sad." She says quietly.

"You wouldn't sing for me if I asked?" I ask teasingly.

"Maybe someday," she sighed. "But not today, ask some other time."

"Okay," I agree, and then ask teasingly. "Would you kiss me today?"

"That, I can do." She smiles and starts to lean in, I pull her close, and our lips meet for just a brief moment. "Do you hear that?" Katniss jumps up and grabs her bow, and starts to follow what she hears.

I don't hear it at first then I recognize the barking of a dog and something that I've never heard it was like a scream. "What is that?" I whisper.

"It sounds like a deer." Katniss answers. We quickly but quietly we make our way to the commotion. Soon we find two, large wild dogs attacking a young buck. When we get within shooting range, Katniss is able to kill one dog with her first arrow, she goes to shoot the other, and the arrow hits it in the shoulder. I had expected it to drop dead like the other one had. Instead it turns and spots us and charges our way, teeth bared, ready to attack. Katniss is fast and already has another arrow in hand.

"Be ready to get up a tree." She says firmly but calmly, I don't see how she does it; I'm scared shitless, I have my knife in hand. Katniss releases her arrow piercing the dog's skull, it falls over instantly.

I just take in the scene; I have never witnessed anything like this. Katniss and I approach the nearest dog, she kicks it just to make sure it's dead and collects her arrows. Then we make our way to the other dog and deer. The dog is defiantly dead, but the young buck is still alive but barely, his breathing is much labored and he is covered in wounds and blood.

"He has a broken leg, that's why they were able to catch him."Katniss explained to me, as she was points to the mangled front leg.

Pulling out my knife, I know what to do having helped my Aunt Rooba butcher a few times. Quietly I walk towards the animal, he is scared and panicked, I have pity for him, but death is his only escape. Placing a strong hand on his horn I pull his head up and slit his throat and he dies within moments.

Katniss and I quickly field dress the animals, she explained that we should get out of here quickly in case there were more dogs in the pack. I carry the deer and game bag with the smaller of the dogs inside, Katniss carries the larger dog we walk back to town.

"What are we going to do with all of this?" I ask, wanting to see how she barters with all of this.

"Sae will take the dogs. I'll trade one of the rabbits and keep the other for home. Would you like the squirrel? I think you've earned it." she says with a smile.

"How have I earned it, I didn't kill anything?" I admit.

"You're carrying most of the load and killed the buck; you get his antlers for that." Katniss says proudly.

"All I did was put him out of his misery, he was dying anyways."

"That's true but a kill is a kill. Sometimes, I think that it is harder to kill an animal in pain that it is to hunt one down as prey." She explains.

"What are you going to do with him?" I ask. "He is pretty torn up, and bruised."

"Yeah I know, I've been thinking about that." She sighs. "I should take him to the butcher shop and have him ground up into sausage then have it smoked, but I really don't want to go the butcher's."

"Hey I'm with you." I say brightly. "Rooba gives Johanna Sundays off, so you shouldn't have to deal with dickhead, oh I mean Gale."

She gives me a smile. "Peeta Mellark, I never thought that you could talk like that about someone."

"He is a special case." I say with a shrug. "I ought to be nicer though; technically he is family now, being married to Johanna and Rory betrothed to Prim. We're going to have to be around them every now and then."

"I suppose so." She agrees.

Arriving at the butcher shop, I knock repeatedly on the back door; finally I hear a shout from above. "Hold on we're coming, or at least I was _cumming_ before you were banging on my door!" Johanna is hanging out her upstairs apartment window in her characteristic style, naked. "Oh, dough boy and Everdeen, you guys have great timing. Let yourselves in, the door is open."

Katniss's mouth was wide open and her face was red. I just start to laugh as we walk through the door.

"What's so funny?" she demands.

"You you're just so… pure." I tell her, I've noticed that she is easily embarrassed when it comes to matters of sexuality and nudity.

"No I am not!"I can tell that she wants to protest more but then we hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Johanna and Gale appear, fully clothed but looking disheveled.

"What can we do for you today?" Johanna asks.

"Sorry Johanna," Katniss says. "We thought that Rooba would be working today."

"Oh, well she has an apprentice now." Johanna slaps Gale on the ass. "So she takes the weekends off now."

Gale examines us, taking us in: he must have figured out that I've been in the woods with Katniss. "So how did blondie handle the woods?" Gale sarcastically asks Katniss. "I see that you managed to bring him back in one big soft piece."

"Peeta did really well, he gets the antlers." Katniss said with pride.

Johanna looks to Katniss and asks in her professional voice. "Why don't we fill an order form so we can prepare the deer the way you like?" And then leads her to the front of the store, leaving Gale and I alone.

He looks at me and nods to the door, and walks toward it, I follow curious about what he wants to say to me.

"Thanks for dropping by, you have great timing." He says sarcastically.

"Payback is a bitch." I smirk, thinking of the kiss that he ruined for me.

"Yeah, well so are you." He retorts.

"Are we going to toss insults back and forth or did you have something to say?" I ask him in an amused sort of way. Our banter is not threatening its just two guys giving each other shit. "Cause I can do this all day, fuck stick. I have two older brothers and they're better at it."

I see him suppress a smile then he looks at me carefully. "You know that it's going to be dangerous for her to be out there real soon? She won't listen to me anymore, not like she ever did."

I nod my head. "She's going to start work in the bakery soon. I'm doing everything I can to make sure she'll be safe. Katniss's well being is my main priority."

If Katniss were to be caught hunting or sneaking out the fence she could be put in the stocks in the town square or whipped publically for a first offence, or she could be subject to execution if caught more than once. These thoughts have been heavy on my mind. Dad used to tell me stories how whippings were a near weekly occurrence when he was a young, some people would die afterward. My stomach cringes with the thought.

"I always knew… about your liking her." Gale says quietly.

I don't know how to respond. Suddenly we hear. _Whack. Whack. Whack._ We hear followed my Johanna's squeal, Gale and I burst through the door. Shocked when we see Johanna and Katniss throwing knives at a bull's eye hanging at the wall, Katniss actually seems amused.

"She's really good at this!" Johanna announces, as she throws a meat cleaver at the target, hitting it dead center. "But not as good as me, I learned with axes as a kid. This is how we spend our breaks in here."

"Catnip could beat you with a bow and arrow though." Gale tells Johanna.

Katniss blatantly ignores Gale and turns to me. "Well Peeta we had better get to the Hob, it will be winding down soon."

The Hob is district's black market; it's hidden in an old warehouse that was used to store coal years ago. My dad would bring me here occasionally to look for hard to come by ingredients like fresh fruit. On the whole the hob was used by the Seam, merchants were leery of it, I'd always been impressed by it, since it was a part of Katniss's world. As we make the rounds trading we come a cross Haymitch, buying white liquor, he seems to be stocking up.

"Hey, boy, sweatheart!" He calls to Katniss and I and motions to us and we come to him. Pulling two sheets of paper from his pocket and holds them out to Katniss and said. "Here this is for your mom and sister."

"What are these?" Katniss asks as she examines the papers.

"They're permits for that damn goat and your mom's "garden" where she gets all of the medicinal herbs from, even though you get most of the crap from the woods."

"Haymitch, we can't take these, they cost too much!" Katniss protests and tries to hand the papers back.

Haymitch just shakes his head and raises his hands. "Look, you need these, you've got to learn how to take a gift, you can't take on the world all on your own. Besides I owe your mom for patching me up and supplying me with hangover medicine."

"Why the suddenly worry about us now?" Katniss asks.

Haymitch looks around and then speaks to us in a low voice. " came into my office the other day." He looks directly to me. "She was looking for loop holes in the contract, she said that she's gotten a better deal for you, but she wouldn't say who."

I feel a sick feeling deep in my gut.

"She can't do that." Katniss manages to says, in totally shock, her face white.

"Any change in contract I have to sign, the contract is sound, in two months when I'm eighteen she can't do anything any way. My dad I know won't sign." I say, trying to confidently, as I take Katniss by the hand, and give it a squeeze.

Haymitch shakes his head. "It only takes one parent to sign, until you're eighteen, you don't matter legally. Don't worry, if we can keep little miss sunshine out of trouble for the next couple of months, we'll be fine. I can lose paper work and forget to get signatures till your birthday, after all everyone knows that I'm a drunk." He finishes with a wink and chuckle, as he takes a drink from his flask.

"What does that mean, me getting in trouble, have to do with it?" She asks confused.

"It's an escape clause in every contract," Haymitch explains. "There are two in every contract; infidelity and conviction of a crime. If you are convicted of a crime then the contract can be terminated without contention."

"If something does happen then I'll just sign another contract after my birthday." Katniss just looks at me wide-eyed as I say this. I stare into her eyes and tell her firmly. "I won't lose you!"

"Don't worry, boy. We're going to keep her out of trouble." Haymitch reassures us. "Sweetheart, go home and clear out you house of _anything_ that seems out of the ordinary, in case the inspectors come to your house, and do nothing to incriminate yourself."

"Any other advice?" I ask, turning to Haymitch.

"Yeah, don't do anything stupid." He laughs and stumbles away. "And don't let anyone know we had this conversation I'm supposed to be confidential. I'm sure that your mom is all just talk, we drunks do that sometimes."

"It will be fine," I reassure her, gathering her up in my arms and kissing her cheek. "I'm sure that my mom is just making shit up, so she can pretend that she fought this marriage in front of her friends." Hoping that this is the case, I didn't think that even my mom was capable of this.

Katniss just nods her head, and says with a sigh. "Have I ever told you that I really don't like your mom?"

"Nobody does, I like her even less now." I admit whole heartedly. I decide to try to lighten the mood; we still had the dogs to trade. "Come on, I cold and hungry why don't we get some hot soup?"

Katniss and I find ourselves setting at Greasy Sae's counter. The old weatherworn woman gives us a genuine smile. "Why isn't the most talked about couple in the district?"

She and Katniss dicker over the dogs and she serves us some sort of soup. "What kind is it?" I ask not recognize the texture of the meat.

"Uh…We'll call it pork." Sae says with a wink.

Katniss grins and whispers in my ear. "It's best not to ask 'til you finished eating, sometimes even then it's best not know."

"Oh," I say in an understanding for the first time of how tough life was in the Seam, not to even questioning what you eat, just eating it because it's all you have, was a new experience for me. "Hey we've got some buns left; they'll be good with soup."

"Um, they're good anytime." Katniss says taking one and dipping it in her soup.

Sae wipes down her counter as we finish our meal, and knocking a spoon down on our side beside me. Thinking nothing of it, I bend over and pick it up.

"Nice buns," Sae say coyly, she must have dropped the spoon on purpose. "Although, I've always been a bigger fan of breadsticks myself."

Katniss gags on her last spoonful of soup, suppressing a laugh, covering her face with her hands.

I feel my face get red but decide to play along, and see if I can cheer Katniss up. In my most serious tone I inquire. "Well, you know what the secret to a good breadstick is?"

Sae looks at me with an eyebrow raised. "What's that?"

"Secret is not so much in the length, which don't get me wrong, that's important too, but the girth is the key to a good breadstick, the thicker the better, tastier."

Sae winks at me and shakes her head, as she laughs. "You're okay, boy. I usually don't care for merchants but I like you." Then she walks away, leaving Katniss and me alone.

Katniss has finally regained her composure but her face is still red as we leave the Hob. "I can't believe that you just said that!"

"What?" I ask innocently. "I was only giving out baking tips. But I did just prove my earlier point."

Katniss looks at me confused. We are alone in the ally in which we walked.

"That you're so pure," I say quietly, as she frowns at me. Raising my hand to her cheek and I place my forehead to hers. "But don't worry for me you're perfect."

I am rewarded but a sweet kiss, I try communicating within it that nothing has changed between us after finding out about my mom's visit to the marriage broker. Soon the kiss becomes much deeper and I know it will fuel my fantasies for tonight.


	8. Chapter 8

Katniss

Peeta catches my eye and gives me a wink, as we set through another pointless lecture, in our Panem History class, everybody knows that half of this crap is made up and the other half nothing but Capitol propaganda. Absentmindedly I'd been playing with my new necklace, my betrothal gift, and I think about the day that it was given to me almost a month ago, and I can't help to blush.

It was New Years Eve and the day of Delly and Rhyes's toasting, I had spent the day at the bakery being trained for my new job there. Mr. Mellark or 'Hank' as he wants me to call him now had shown me how to take inventory and work the cash register. Peeta had been busy helping Rhyes move his things to his and Delly new apartment, he would sneak in and give me a peck on the cheek and check on me every time that he made a trip up the stairs.

I think Peeta was happy to be getting the apartment all to his self. He had been sleeping there most of the time ever since the start of the school year, being a shorter morning trip to work. After finding out about his mom's visit to the marriage broker Peeta stayed there all of the time. When we're married, I will live here too; my upcoming marriage is starting to seem real and not just a game.

After work I had gone back home to get ready for the toasting. I was wearing one of the dresses that Madge had given me, a long sleeved, knee length soft orange dress, I chose it knowing it was Peeta's favorite color. The outfit was finished off with a brown belt and a pair of dress boots borrowed from Jemma. Mom had curled my hair and pulled it half up, she even dabbed perfume on my neck from a tiny bottle that she said that my dad had bought for her long ago. We both had to blink away the tears.

Prim, my mom and I walked into town, they were going to Hazelle's new home, and it was still in the Seam but on the edge, close to the storefront section of town. Upon returning to bakery I make my way up the stairs, it was my first time seeing the apartment. I knocked on the door several times then I let myself in, then I am met by a sight that took me totally by surprise.

Peeta, walking buck naked, was leaving what I guessed to be the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel obviously unaware that I had arrived. I stood there my jaw dropped, too shocked and awe struck to even speak. Peeta was gorgeous, his body glistening from his shower. Feeling a funny flutter in my stomach and a weakness in my knees, I finally find shame and turn head away from him. 'Oh no, I just saw his cock,' I thought to myself.

"Peeta, I'm here!" I finally announced.

"Oh hi," he said causally, as if nothing was wrong. "Are you early or am I late?"

"Peeta you're naked!" I told him as if he didn't already know.

"Katniss, I don't care if you see me naked." Peeta teased me; I could hear the grin on his face. "You know that you're going to have to see me naked at some point."

Thinking about this for a moment and it gave me thrill, not that I didn't want to see him naked I just hadn't expected it when I came through the door. "Well I would feel more comfortable now if you weren't naked right at this moment." I confess with my face burning and back still turned.

"Like I said before…pure." He says as I hear him shuffle into a nearby bedroom then call out. "Are boxers enough?"

"Yeah as long as you're junk is covered, I'm fine." I say turning around and taking off my coat.

He walks back into the living room, a big smile on his face, which disappears as his eyes go wide, his jaw drops and he stops in mid step. "Wow!" he says in amazement, examining me. "You look so beautiful."

His reaction had stunned me in return. I still could feel the heat on my face from when I first arrived, it just had deepened again. At a loss for words I just shook my head.

"No, Katniss believe me," he says as if he is trying to convince me. "I have never seen a woman as incredibly, wonderfully beautiful as you!" He licks his lips and smiles. "Yet there is something missing…" He walked back the hall way and quickly returned with one hand behind his back and approached me. "I wasn't going to give this to you yet, but I think that you ought to have it now."

Peeta brought his hand forward and revealed a little black box. "What is that?" I ask bringing my eyes to his brilliant blue ones shining; he looked almost like a child showing off his new toy.

"I didn't tell you, I finished Madge's portrait the other day and I delivered it. She and the mayor insisted that we trade a betrothal gift for a betrothal gift, they let me choose from a whole jewelry box full." He opens the box revealing a lovely, single pearl pendant accented by tiny diamonds in a simple, a classic setting on a gold chain.

"Oh, Peeta…" I wanted to say more but my voice caught and I decided that it's best to stay silent a moment.

"When I saw it I just thought of you. You're kind of like a pearl, you know?" Peeta said in almost a whisper. I looked at him urging him to explain. "A pearl, comes out of nature, its shell, already polished and beautiful. Unlike gems that need to cut and manipulated in order to be pretty, you're defiantly a pearl. Will you wear it? It is a token of my great love for you. What I'm telling you is that I love you Katniss Everdeen."

In total shock, I ask myself 'did he just say that he loves me?' I nod and told him honestly, "It's perfect." I had been silent too afraid that if I spoke any more that tears would come, and his speech had been so overwhelming. He was just inches from me, and took the necklace out of the box and then placed it around my neck.

"I love you so much. I know that you may not be able to say it back to me, don't think that I expect you to say it back right now, but maybe someday you will feel the same way that I do."

Not knowing myself what I felt for sure and not wanting to say anything to ruin the moment, I reached out for him. Kissing Peeta with all of the emotion I have for him, much of which I cannot even put a name to. Is it love? I don't know for sure, I'm afraid to love him, it could break me. But now not having him could break me too, maybe even more so. I'm no good with words, but I am good with actions.

My arms were snaked around middle, pulling him close. One of his hands rested on my neck, the other gently griped my hip. As our kiss deepened, I pressed my body hard against his. My hand seemed to move to their own accord stroking his bare back then one moves down and grabbed his ass over his boxers. He backed me a few paces up against the apartment door, and pressed me against it. I couldn't believe how good it felt, his hand was then on my ass, pulling me against him. We moaned as we kissed, my body was on fire. Feeling his hardness on my stomach through the thin fabric of my dress, I was surprised by its size but not alarmed, not like I had anything to compare it to.

Peeta was the first to pull away and looked me in the eyes, slightly confused. "Katniss?"

"This is all that I can manage right now." I said apagogically, still not knowing how I felt for sure.

"It's okay," he said reassuringly, released his grip some, then just giving me a tender hug and kiss on the cheek. "I just wanted to tell about how I felt."

We managed to break apart somehow, and Peeta got dressed for the toasting, wearing his slightly worn dress coat, a white button up shirt, and black dress pants. It seemed like it took him a while to get ready, then I realized that maybe he had to 'take care of himself', I was both a little embarrassed and turned on by the thought that I had caused it.

The toasting was lovely, we arrived a little late. I had never been to a merchant toasting before, it was a lot like a seam toasting only the clothes were nicer, and the cake was bigger. Delly's had become very attractive in the last year finally losing her childhood chubbiness; she had been a very pretty bride, all smiles and happiness. Even the quiet Rhyes, laughed out loud as he toasted his bread and fed it to Delly. They never struck me as a love match, but they seemed happy and were very tender and sweet with each other.

It was odd to think that Delly was going to return to school Monday as newest Mrs. Mellark. But it wasn't unusual for girl to get married during their last year of school, especially if her fiancé was older like Rhyes, he just turned 21.

Rooba had come alone; Johanna and Gale opted to go to Hazelle's for the New Year's Eve meal, I felt relieved although Johanna was growing on me. The party included about 30 people from the Mellark and Cartwright clans, as many as the apartment above the shoe store could hold.

Nearly all young merchant couples started out in an apartment above a store then would move into a house into the well manicured merchants' town, after they had a baby or two. The apartment life didn't bother me; you could see the Seam from Peeta's apartment. Although life in town didn't appeal to me at all, snotty neighbors to be placated and appearances to be kept, I thought that having Peeta would at least make it bearable.

My future mother in law was being especially 'delightful'; she must have hit the bottle early. Mrs. Elba Mellark was just a mean person, some of her highlights of the evening included comments such as the following. "Delly honey, I'm so glad the dress rental store had on in your size." And then there was to Jemma, whom is seven months pregnant, "Oh, you finally look like you're expecting a baby, you did just seem like you had picked up a lot of weight." Sometime during the night she berated Hank about me, saying loud enough for all to hear. "Can't we at least exchange her for her sister? The younger one at least looks and acts more like a merchant!"

The best was saved for Peeta and I, while we were proudly showing Delly's parents my new necklace, who had just commented on how pretty it was. "Well, Peeta you know that a proper engagement gift is a diamond. A pearl is very nice, worthy of a seam girl; don't be surprised when you see it in the pawn store window." I bit my tongue, fighting back a retort; I was not going to cause a scene at my first Mellark family function. Peeta's face was beat red, jaw clenched. Mrs. Cartwright just gave me a consoling smile and touch on the arm, after Peeta's mom stumbled away.

Does it make me a bad person if I hope that she dies first, so Hank can have some peace in his later years?

Other than Mrs. Mellark, everything went well. We had a good time and were among the last to leave, after helping to pick up after the party broke up at about 11:00 pm. The newlywed couple waved and Delly said happily, "Just think, this will be you in a few months!"

"Do you want to go back to my apartment or do you want to go home? It's not that late, I could show you my plans for the apartment." Peeta asked me as we walk.

"Sure, I guess we could do that."I replied, knowing full well that we would probably end up making out again.

He takes me by the hand as he gives me the official tour, I didn't notice too much about the apartment the first time; I had been distracted by a naked Peeta. The eat-in kitchen and living room was all in one big space. He excitedly told me about how he was going paint every room. "The big space I'll paint green for you." I smiled as he told me, he knows that green is my favorite color.

The bathroom had a shower that only has luke warm water, which was an improvement over the wash tub we had at home. There were three bed rooms, one small which Peeta had the modesty to only show me in passing and said quietly 'this will be our room', and two very small, they were filled with flour and other baking supplies.

"Don't worry; these will be cleared out before we're married." Peeta told me as explained about the rooms. "Dad and I have been trying to stock up; you never know when the Capitol will restrict supplies. President Snow is ill and we expect that there will be discord after he dies, other parties will be vying for power, and of course as always the districts will get the worst of it. Our system sucks, but I don't have to tell you that, you know it better me."

Peeta's speech shocked me; I never took him for being political, or at least being critical of the government. My pride in him has grown; he never ceases to surprise me. "Yeah, I know."I said quietly.

Peeta suddenly looks at me with a mischievous smile, ready to change the subject. "Do you want to make out with me on the couch for a while?" I rolled my eyes and smile, so he added. "Come on we'll use the 'hands above the waist' policy."

"Oh, okay." I agreed acting annoyed, I couldn't help but to smile.

We spent the next hour, just kissing and caressing each other, trying hard to be good and not go too far like we had earlier. On the whole we were successful; although Peeta's hand 'accidentally' brushed the side of my breast a few times, sending a pleasant shivers down my spine.

Finally he walked me home. I finally asked the question that has been on my mind since that day at Haymitch's office. "Peeta, why me?"

"Like I said before I've been a goner since I was five years old." He told me sweetly, with his finale good night kiss. And at last I believed him.

My teacher taps my desk bringing back to reality. Peeta suppresses a laugh, at my daydreaming. This is my last class of the day, I used to watch Peeta practice, but now I go to the bakery to work; it has been really shorthanded since Rhyes got married. I haven't got spend much one on one time with him in the past month, between work, practice and school we've both been overwhelmed. We've had to be happy with quick stolen kisses between classes and at work.

Peeta kisses me goodbye thinking that I am going to the bakery, but really I am going to the shoemaker's to have Peeta's betrothal gift made, I'd thought long and hard about what to get him, trying to be as thoughtful as he had been with mine. Having no money, making his gift was my only option, so I had decided to have a pair of hunting boots made for him. Peeta had been so worried about his heavy foot fall; I noticed that half of the problem had been his bulky work boots. The boots would be my way to invite him into my world in the woods. I wouldn't be making them myself, Rhyes and Delly would be, but I would supply the materials. I had the hide of the buck he killed tanned into leather; it had been really torn up and not worth trading for, although it would be perfect for the boots, meaningful.

Recently, I've come to the realization that I love Peeta, everything about him, his kindness, his compassion, his all over goodness and many more amazing things I that it would take hours to list. But I've not been able to voice my feelings; I tried to put them into every embrace and kiss, knowing that he wanted to hear the words. The boots have been a part of a bigger plan, an evening that I am planning in which I will give him his betrothal gift and finally confess my love for him.

As I leave school Delly waves me over to the girl's room, and we step inside. The school had been cleared out, we just assume that are alone. "Are you still coming to the shoe store later?" she asks excitedly.

"Yeah, I'll bring the deer skin and the other pelts, too. Half a dozen rabbits and two beaver pelts, it seems too cheap to me though." I tell her, we had agreed to barter for labor, but it sounded too low for me.

"Oh no," Delly says convincingly, and then she follows in an amazed tone. "Your pelts are the best, always flawless, no holes, perfect for making slippers and lining boots. You must really shot them in the eye every time. I don't see how you do it, I admire you so much."

I am taken aback at Delly's words, I'm touched. "Delly, I don't know how you can be so wonderful all of the time." I tell her honestly.

"Awe, Katniss." She hugs me tightly. "That's the sweetest thing that you've said to me. Oh, Peeta will love his gift. Well I had better go, see you later." She turns to walk out the door and then I hear her, say to someone on the other side. "Hello Beth!"

Next thing that I know Beth Baley, enters room, she hates me. I pretend to be smoothing out my braid looking into the small mirror, so not to seem conspicuous, giving her the slightest nod of recognition, before I turn to leave the room.

"You don't deserve him, you know." Beth tells me coldly, glaring at me with her pale blue eyes.

"I know," I say evenly, look her in the eye. This thought has haunted me for a while now; I knew that I could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve him. "But then I know of no girl whom could ever deserve him. Peeta does what deserve what he wants though, and he wants me, and I can't deny him that."

Her face reddens, as I walk out of the room, if looks could kill then I would be dead. I find Prim who had been waiting for me outside of the school with Rory. Smiling, as we all walked back to the Seam thinking about how I'd finally put that spoiled little merchant brat in her place.

The moment I get home, pack up the pelts. Relieved to have them out of the house, they are the last proof in the house that I am a hunter. All of the preserved meat and jerky had to be relabeled with the tags of beef, pork and chicken. My dad's hunting jacket put in a box under a bed to look as if it had been stored there for years. Nothing in the house could get us in trouble if the inspector would come, with the exception of the hides. The small animals could be explained as being caught for found dead inside of the fence, although the buck's skin was a different story. Neatly I fold up the skins into the smallest package possible and shove them into my book bag.

Alone I walk into the merchants' end of town, within sight of the shoe store, consumed with thinking about the details of the boots and what Peeta's reaction would be, to both the gift and what I'm going to tell him. My goal is to make him as happy as he had made me. Making my way, I'm almost giddy, 'this must be how Delly feels all of the time', I muse to myself.

All pleasant feelings are dashed when I notice unfamiliar Peacekeepers in dazzling white uniforms, too clean to be from our coal dust covered district. These must the the long awaited inspectors. I try to be invisible, something that I used good at. One of them a man in about his thirties, with a silly looking beard the screams 'Capitol', approaches me, along our head Peacekeeper Cray.

"Miss Everdeen," Cray addresses and then approaches me, he knows me well from years of buying my wild turkeys. Cray points to the man with the beard. "This is head inspector Seneca Green and we would like to have a word with you."

I try to play ignorant; acting is not my strong suit. "Peacekeeper Cray what seems to be the problem?"

"Miss Everdeen we have had information that you are a poacher and are in the possession contraband." Inspector Green tells me, motions at the Peacekeepers, then to me. One of them grabs my bag. Cray himself takes my hands behind his back and holds me.

"Don't say anything." He whispers lowly in my ear, so that none others hear.

Inspector Green rips open my bag, and the pelts fall out. Green says to his companions almost gleefully. "Come on take her to the square, we have a hearing and punishment to see to."

As I am being cuffed and roughly drug into the square my eyes fill with tears. I'm not concerned with the stocks, a whipping, or even possible execution. My only thought is, as I cry, 'I'm going to lose Peeta'.


	9. Chapter 9

Peeta

This 'dark cloud' feeling that I've been having off and on again, is really strong today, I don't know why. Katniss and I have been getting along great, we've not been able to spend much time together this past month though, and we both know that it just temporary. Once we're married we'll get to spend as much time together as we like, in the bakery, in the woods (Katniss has promised to teach me how to swim this summer), in our future home and our bed…okay maybe I shouldn't think about that last one right now. These happy thoughts make me smile throughout the day, especially when she is near me like she was in class. I love to watch her as she plays with her pearl, she will occasionally blush while she has a far off look in her eyes. Hopefully she's thinking of me too.

Since she has started work at the bakery she hasn't come to but a couple of my wrestling practices, some people had assumed that we were having relationship issues but that died down as soon as they realized that she was working. Katniss's absence has brought me an unwanted follower, Beth Baley. I've got a strong suspicion that it was the Baleys who offered my mother a better contract deal. Now that Beth watches every practice and tries to catch my eye, I've been ignoring her.

/

Yesterday Beth tried to corner me as I was putting away mats.

"Hi Peeta." Beth said to me in a sickeningly sweet way.

I barely nod in return; I wasn't going to use my kindness on her. My stomach turned, this girl is nothing but a thorn in my side, making my life hell with the treat of ending my engagement to Katniss.

"Has your mom talked to you about the contract that my parents want to offer you?" She said as if we were talking about the weather.

"I don't speak to my mother." I told her curtly.

"Well they've got a pretty good deal on the table; it would be more than enough to buy your bothers' bakery shares and to start out in a nice house." Beth told me happily, with a look on her face I take to supposed to be seductive, but just strikes me as nauseating. "You're what I want, and I always get what I want."

Anger inched up within me; I thought that I had then found someone that I dislike more than Hawthorne. Having decided that meanness may be the only way to get through to this girl, I gave it a try for the first time. "Look I don't know what my mother has told you but here's the deal; I love Katniss, I am going to marry her no matter what. I don't care if your parents offer me the fucking moon I'm not going to marry you. It's only a month till my birthday, after that there is nothing that my mother can do anymore." Then I walked away into the locker room where she could not follow me.

/

Beth hasn't shown up to practice today, I hope that she has finally gotten the point.

Knowing that this little episode might upset Katniss, I chose not to tell her, she as enough to worry about with the inspection coming. I'd helped her, Prim and Mrs. Everdeen clear their home of any contraband, and I don't think that anything is left. Katniss's most dangerous possessions, her bows, arrows, and hunting knives are hidden in the woods. Most everything else can be explained away, I think that they're safe now.

Again I convince myself that everything is okay, as I'm sparing with Wesley towards the end of practice, when I hear the gym doors burst open and my name being called out.

"Peeta, Peeta come quick!" Delly pants breathlessly, I can barely understand her she mumbles something about hunting boots, pelts, Peacekeepers and finally Katniss.

I'm scared. "Delly what are you talking about?" I ask grabbing the by the shoulders and looking her in the eyes.

"Katniss… got caught by the Peacekeepers… carrying pelts, rabbits, beavers, and a buck's skin for your betrothal gift, a pair of hunting boots. The inspector is here, just came today, he's getting ready to conduct a hearing as we speak."

"Oh, shit!" is all that I can get out. I instantly run out the door, still in my gym clothes. I don't know what to do where to go. All of a sudden it hits me, I have to stop it, Katniss can't take a whipping, she's too small, too thin, no meat on her bones.

A plan is being formed in my head. As I am running to the bakery I am met by Gale and a young redheaded Peacekeeper, Darius, I know that he and Katniss are friendly.

"Your Dad said that we would find you at school," Gale says frantically. "What do you know?"

I recount what Delly had told me, then I add, "We need to stop it, I'll take her punishment if I have to."

As we hurry to the bakery, to fetch my antlers (a part of my plan), Gale tells me how Darius, came to warn him about the inspector's arrival and how Mr. Baley and his daughter came to make a report of contraband, the pelts being carried by Katniss. They went on to tell the inspector that Katniss is a well known hunter, going outside of the fence often.

"They're searching her house as we speak. This can get her killed." Gale tells me in a serious tone, his voice still cracks. "We can't let this happen."

"I told you once that Katniss's well being was my main priority. There is nothing left in the house I think." I grab his shoulder and look him in the eye, then run up to my apartment, getting the antlers and throwing on some pants and a sweatshirt, it freezing cold outside and snow covers the ground.

"Darius," I say to the Peacekeeper. "Arrest me, take me to the square and tell them that you found the real poacher, take these antlers as evidence."

Darius nods his head, and punches me right in the face.

"What the fuck?" I say, I hadn't expected that.

"Sorry, we have to make it believable." Darius apologizes.

I shake my head and collect myself, and then I look at Gale. "You and anybody else, who can need to help me, play along, help to incriminate me instead of her."

He nods his head, and leaves ahead of us, going to the square.

Darius cuffs me and shoves me ahead of him, my lip is split, and I pretend to resist. We enter the square and the sight ahead of me makes my stomach drop and head spin.

Katniss is cuffed, standing next to the whipping post, which is set on one end of an elevated, large wooden square platform, built just for public whippings. Her eyes are red and but she is not crying she's being brave, holding her head high. Half of the district has shown up, I see my dad, my brothers, Johanna, Rooba, Haymitch, and Prim all standing together a few yards behind Katniss, separated by Peacekeepers.

Charges are being read to her by Cray. "Katniss Everdeen you are being charged with the following crimes against Panem: possessing and carrying of contraband, poaching and the carrying of deadly weapons, and going outside of the fence, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty." She responds mechanically, the way that everyone has told her to answer.

"Now Ms. Everdeen," the man I take to be head inspector Green says in a cocky, amused way. "We caught you red handed with the pelts, let's not play stupid."

I look to Darius, urging him to move forward; finally he pushes me through the crowd.

"Inspector Green sir, Head Peacekepper Cray sir, may I have your attention please." Darius yells above the crowd, as he follows me up the platform steps and pushes me so that I am on my knees.

Inspector Green turns his attention to us, as does everyone else, including Katniss, her face in disbelief; I can see her lips move forming the word 'no'.

I try to give her a reassuring look; I don't know how convincing it is. We are now within ten feet of Katniss, Green and Cray.

"Inspector Green sir, I have heard information that states that these crimes have not been perpetrated not by that girl, but by this young man. And these are proof." Darius says as he lifts up my six point rack for all to see.

Green examines me for a moment; his interest peeked, looking like a cat toying with a mouse before delivering death, he approaches me. "What do you have to say for yourself young man? Are you guilty of these crimes?"

I've been trying this whole time to evaluate this man, seeing how best to appeal to him, I'm putting my people skills to use.

"Yes sir, to an extent. I did collect the skins and I did kill the rabbits, but not the kill the beavers or the buck." I tell him, trying to sound truthful but not over confident. My reasoning was that to be guilty of some charges was more believable then being totally innocent, there was too much evidence to the contrary.

He cocks an eyebrow, and then asks me. "This should be good, continue please, explain yourself... What is your name?"

"Peeta Mellark, sir," I tell him respectfully, I hope that Green has no experience with hunting or the killing of wild animals, all I know has been based my one day in the woods and listening to Katniss. "As I was saying I caught the rabbits last year using traps in our garden, I killed and ate them, and then tanned their hides."

"Alright that explains the rabbits now how about the others." He smirks; his arrogance is obvious he thinks that he is the smartest person here.

I'm trying to sound respectful yet light; I think the Green will respond well to charm but not ass kissing. "Well sir, the beavers I found dead in the creek in the meadow after heavy flash flooding last fall, they must have drown. So I skinned them, I've heard that there pelts were valuable."

"Huh, that is probable; those animals could be within the fence." He admits, but the smiles wickedly. "Now I want to hear about the deer skin, Mr. Mellark."

"Inspector Green to that I do admit that I did go outside of the fence for it but I did not kill the deer." I confess.

I can see Katniss shake her head, trying to plead with me with me. Pretending not to notice her, I keep my eye contact with Green.

"Now how did you do that, with the fence being on at all times?" Green asked as he looked at Cray.

Then I understand that the inspection was as much about scrutinizing Cray and the other Peacekeepers as it was the people of the district 12, if not more so.

"Sir, the fence is on at all times, I climbed a tree with limbs that hung over the fence over. A couple of months ago I saw two dogs attack and kill a buck right outside of the fence. I thought that it was a waste just to let the damn dogs have it, so I climbed the tree and dropped down. After I scared the dogs off I skinned the buck with my pocket knife, and I broke off his antlers with a big rock, and then threw it all over the fence."

"Good story, how did you get back over the fence?" Green thinks that he has caught me, he seems very satisfied.

"I found another tree on the other side to climb, sir."

"Could you show me where these trees are, young man?"

"Well I could show you where they were, they have been cut down and the stumps removed within the last few months." I tell him, sounding as honest as I could.

"What were you planning on doing with all of these skins?"

"Tried trading them, but everyone was too scared of the Peacekeepers to deal. So instead I thought to have boots made, I need a new pair and my brother is a shoemaker; I was going to trade him the smaller pelts in exchange for making the boots. I told him that deer skin was a goat, he had no clue that it was a deer."

Green seems to be getting annoyed with me; he must have thought that he would have stumped me by now. "So how did this girl end up with the skins?" He asks pointing to Katniss.

"She is my fiancée." I say still trying to sound relaxed. "I told her to take the hides to my brother; I had to get to work."

"Miss Everdeen just does illegal things just because you tell her to?"

"She is as good as my wife that is her place, to do what I say." I tell him in a matter of fact tone, I hope Katniss can understand why I'm acting this way.

Green looks me up and down. "You're a merchant?" I nod. "She looks like Seam stock, what are you two doing together? I thought your groups didn't mix."

"What can I say sir?" I ask, and then admit. "She's gorgeous, I couldn't resist. I got my hand caught in the cookie jar. I had to buy out her marriage contract after we got caught sneaking around. You can ask the marriage broker, it's all in the paperwork. " My reasoning for speaking like this was: if I seemed as desperately in love as I really am then they may not buy my story. I don't want to seem like the kind of guy who would do what it is that I'm doing right now, sacrificing for the girl that he loves.

"Is the broker here?" Green calls out to the crowd.

"Yeah, I'm here!" Haymitch steps forward.

"Is this true?" Green asks.

"Yep, here we've got a saying, 'you break her seal, and you buy her deal'. These two have been nothing but a pain in my ass; it has been a paperwork nightmare."

Green seems to be weighing his options. He approaches me and says low enough for only me to hear. "You've got an explanation for everything, don't you Mr. Mellark."

I don't know how to respond, I don't think that he wants one though. Green is starting to look silly and he knows it.

Green seems board now, and says to the crowd. "I've had enough of this; it's time to determine a punishment for you two."

"Cray, what is the standard punishment for poaching, contraband and going outside of the fence?"

"Death, by a firing squad in a typical case," Cray states, he had been during this whole time speaking in hushed tones to Darius. The crowd gasps and moans. Green smiles, although it fades as Cray continues. "But in this case, he is a first time offender under eighteen and the only charges that we can prove are going outside of the fence and possession of contraband, which he has admitted to. Ten lashes is standard, twenty is the maximum."

"What about the poaching charges?" Green asks, and motions for to come closer so they can speak more privately. As soon as Cray stands beside us Green growls. "What are you doing Cray?"

"It's not illegal to kill vermin in your garden or scavenge carcasses." Cray said dryly, in a quiet voice. "I am going strictly by the book; you can look it up if you like."

"What about the girl and the poaching and weapons charges?" Green asks, apparently either forgetting or not caring about the fact that I am just two feet away.

Cray gives Green a critical eye. "Look at her, she's tiny, does she really look like she goes out into the woods facing down bears and wild dogs with a bow and arrow. Where would she even get it from? It just looks embarrassing that you would take claim seriously. Her home has been searched, nothing was found. From what I understand this whole thing got started by some jealous merchant girl who wants to get contracted to the boy. She just overheard part of a conversation and jumped to conclusions, this has all been caused by teenage drama. The only thing that Miss Everdeen is guilty of is doing what her future husband asked her to do. I'd say fifteen lashes for him and time in the stocks for her, would be fair."

'That wouldn't be so bad' I think to myself.

During this quiet speech by Cray, I notice Katniss watching them, looking slightly confused; she probably can't hear their hushed conversation.

Green looks pissed, he glares at me and then announces to the crowd, "Twenty lashes a piece!"

I panic, suddenly an idea comes to me, I yell out. "No please sir, let me take her lashes too. She is pregnant with our baby!"

Katniss's face drains of color, "Peeta, no!" she screams.

Green takes in the scene, as the crowd starts to react, yelling and cursing. Cray lowly says to him. "Let the boy take the punishment, you will convince the crowd that we are merciful. Do you really want to report head command that you killed a pregnant teenage girl, for carrying around a ratty piece of leather, based on another girl's gossip? These two kids are both well liked by most of the district; a severe punishment may incite a riot. From what I understand there has been enough trouble with some of the other districts rebelling."

Green looks convinced, nodding his head in agreement. I can't believe that Cray is helping us, but then I realize that if the inspector finds out about his indiscretions, he will be in deep shit too.

"Alright, Mr. Mellark will receive lashes for both he and Miss Everdeen, forty in all." Green proclaims above the crowd, quieting them considerably, no one wants to see a woman whipped, especially Katniss. She doesn't know it but she has an effect on people.

Darius and another Peacekeeper, each taking one of my arms, pulling me to my feet and lead me to the whipping post. A third uncuffs a now tearful Katniss, and is leading her off the platform. As we pass each other, she looks into my eyes and says softly. "I love you!" She is hurriedly taken away, Gale and Haymitch come forward to met her and pull her back to the crowd.

A Peacekeeper removes my cuff and tells me remove my sweatshirt and under shirt. I comply, shaking slightly from both the freezing early February air and fear alike. 'At least Katniss is safe and Baleys will want nothing to do with me now' I tell myself. My hands are tied above my head to the whipping post with rawhide straps.

'You can do this, be brave, be brave for my family, and most of all, be brave for Katniss.' I repeat in my mind over and over again.

Green steps up, whip in hand, I'm going to have to pay for making him look stupid. The crowd falls silent.

I tell myself to do what I used to do when I was a child and was receiving a beating from my drunken mother, think of having courage. When I thought of courage I thought of Katniss.

 _Crack!_ I feel and hear the first lash at the same instant, it is hot on my back, and I clench my jaw and withhold a yelp.

I can her people gasp and cry out in the crowd, I'm sure that one scream belongs to Katniss.

'Brave like Katniss escaping from a bear.' I try to pull up an image.

 _Crack!_ This one hurts even more, still I suppress any noise. Green is taking his time, he's going to drawl this out.

'Brave like Katniss waiting outside the coal mines the night her father died, Prim in hand.'

_Crack!_

'Brave like Katniss shooting a charging wild dog.'

This continues like these through lash number nine, I feel my ravaged skin finally rip open and spill blood. The pain is blinding. I pull up every memory I have of Katniss to distract myself, in my mind I try to be anywhere but here, try to remind myself that this may have killed Katniss.

Lash number fifteen I finally scream, I feel blood oozing down my back aching, raw.

Lashes sixteen through twenty-two I am able to again keep silent, I will not give Green the satisfaction of my screams. I'm trying to think more 'brave' thoughts but it's impossible the pain is too great.

 _Crack!_ Twenty-three through twenty-nine I cry out weakly, unable to fight it anymore, my legs fail me and I just hang by my wrists.

I've been hanging on to thoughts of Katniss, trying to stay awake, but my mind is shutting itself down to deal with my body's pain. I black out.

The next thing I am aware of my body being eased down to the ground; I am cold, confused, foggy and mostly in intense pain. My body is placed face down on a stretcher. I can hear the familiar voices of my dad, brothers, Prim, Mrs. Everdeen and a few others, but they are all jumbled in my ears, I can't make them out. Only one that I hear clearly is coming from the girl holding my hand, the girl I love and that I now know loves me in return, Katniss."Peeta! Peeta please stay with me!"

With all of the effort I have left, I respond, before I pass out again, "Always."


	10. Chapter 10

Katniss

Peeta screams in pain, as his flesh gets stripped of his ribs bit by bit, blood everywhere. I watch helplessly, as Hank curses me and the day that he signed my marriage contract. Next Peeta's screams stop, he is dead and the mob of district 12 inhabitants attack me.

I wake from my nightmare with a start and find my hand clutching Peeta's tightly, to compensate for the fact that his is limp and can't squeeze back. It has been three days since the whipping, the longest three days of my life. Not having left his bedside, I am exhausted. I haven't slept for more than an hour at a time and only eaten what Mom and Prim have forced me too.

/

In my mind I replay the hearing and whipping. Having been resigned to my fate, I had just hoped that what Peeta had said about resigning anther contract after his birthday was true. My thought was to take my punishment and if I lived through it…well I had to live through it first. I was in total disbelief when I saw Peeta arrive on the platform hand cuffed; knowing in that instant what was on his mind, to save me. All I could do was watch as the events unfolded, shocked when he told the crowd that I was pregnant.

'He doesn't deserve this!' I wanted to scream as I was being drug off. But when I passed him on the platform, I knew what Peeta needed to hear, and what I needed to tell him, for me as much as him. My "I love you!" was a weak offering for everything that I felt at that moment.

Gale and Haymitch literally had to pull me to the crowd; they held me firmly, as we prepared to watch the whipping. When the first lash landed on Peeta's back, I screamed. Haymitch firmly whispered in my ear. "Your screaming will not help him! Suck it up and be strong for him."

Watching in horror as Green took his time, he deliberately delivered each stroke. When Peeta finally screamed out in pain, I fought the urge to be sick right then and there. The crowd became more and more agitated as the lash tally rose and Peeta passed out, I'd thought that he had died. Gale tried to console me saying, "He's still flinching, he's still alive."

It didn't help.

By the end crowd had been chanting 'mercy' over and over again. Green made his self scarce, as soon as lash number forty landed and he could see the anger rising in the audience. I ran back onto the platform as soon as I was released by Gale and Haymitch, and I took Peeta's hand, to afraid of hurting any other part of him. Relief washed over me when he answered my pleas of "stay with me" with one word and a ghost of a smile with, "always".

Rory had fetched my mom before the hearing and she'd already had all of her medical supplies at hand. She took over the situation; ordering people around and telling us how handle the motionless body.

Peeta was laid with his horrific wounds facing up, and his head turned to one side. He was carried by Gale, Haymitch, Graham and Rhyes back to his bakery apartment, I held his hand the whole way. Rooba guided Hank, following Peeta's motionless body. Johanna had to pull me away from Peeta so he could be carried up the stairs and put in bed, I was frantic, crying and calling for him. Mom and Prim worked on Peeta, cleaning and attending his wounds. The Mellark men and Rooba waited in the living room quietly, tears streaking their faces. Haymitch and Gale paced the floor, passing a flask back and forth between them every now and then. Johanna just held me and tried to reason with me, dragging me into the stairwell, after my mom had sent me out of Peeta's room, so she and Prim could work in peace.

"This is all my fault!" I sobbed. "I should have been the one to get whipped."

"Now you listen here," Johanna demands, apparently tired of me pitying myself. "Brainless, if he hadn't gotten there when he did, you would have gotten worse that a whipping, Green really wanted there to be an execution. Mr. Smooth Talker in there saved your life; you never would have been able to talk your way out of those charges even with Cray on your side. Back in 7, I've seen women your size take twenty lashes, it ain't pretty, and forty would have killed you without question."

My sobs quiet, I looked her in the eyes. Johanna is somber, serious, and then she tells me. "That boy… no, that _man_ , would die for you, he knew what he was getting into when he stepped onto that stage."

She went on to tell me about Gale, Darius and Peeta's plan to save me. I was stunned that so many people were in on the plot.

"This is what needs to happen now," she demands of me. "You're going to march your ass in there, you're going to be clam and be brave for Peeta, he needs you now."

After her speech I dried my tears and reentered the apartment and sat beside Hank who held my hand in both of his. Repeating softly to no one in particular, "He'll be okay!"

And then came to arrival of everybody's least favorite drunk, Mrs Elba Mellark. She burst through the door screaming, her vengeance and pointer finger aimed at me. "You, you stupid, filthy whore, you're the reason why my family has been publically humiliated. I am terminating your contract-."

She is cut off suddenly by her husband who had stood up and took her shoulders in his very large hands and gave her firm shake, startling everyone in the room. I had never heard this mild mannered man ever raise his voice, or say a cross word, but he glared his wife in the eye and yelled within inches of her face. "You will not speak to her in that way! You won't sign anything, and if you do, your sorry, drunken ass will be thrown out into the streets and I will tell every man, woman and child I come across about what a pathetic mother, horrible wife and an overall fucking awful human being you are."

Mrs. Mellark is not a small woman, she towers over me, and is sturdily built, but she looked tiny at that moment. "Hank, I-I I'm your wife." She stutters, shocked at his reaction, this must be the first time that he has fought back.

"And she is," Hank points at me "the wife that my son has chosen. I am a father before I'm a husband, or at least I should have been. I will not watch you bully and berate people any longer. Peeta is here because of you."

"What are you talking about?" she asked confused.

"You told those dumb fucks, Baleys, about the loop hole in the contract, that's what caused all of this. They reported Katniss and Peeta took the blame." His tone was quieter but still scary. "Now if you're not going to be able to sit your ass down, shut the hell up and not be a total bitch, you can't stay. I only want people here who care about Peeta."

For the first time ever I saw an emotion on her face that was not anger, it was pity, although it was for herself alone, I thought. She broke into sobs and ran out the door.

After that we all sank back into an anxious silence, no one wanted to waste energy talking about her. We could hear the occasional moan of pain, and the sound of mother and Prim working. There was a knock at the door, Gale answers it, Madge walks in with a small sack in hand.

"Here, this is some of my mom's morphling, it will help the pain so he can rest." Madge holds the bag out to me. "How is he?"

Prim walks out into the living room, having heard Madge arrive. "He'll live, nothing vital was harmed, and tomorrow we can give him a snow coat that will help. The morphling will help him sleep tonight. He's going to take some time to heal, we're going to make him sleep for the next day or two, so his wounds can set and he can't tear them open again." Prim sounded so grown up, and sure of herself, she is going to be a great healer someday. I on the other hand had been totally useless in helping Peeta; I'm going to make it up to him somehow.

After a while everyone left but my family, Hank and I. Graham, Rhyes, Jemma and Delly were going to take turns going to helping with the bakery. When mom and Prim had done all they could for the night I was allowed to set by his side and hold his hand. Peeta looked terrible, my heart hurt just to see him. I remember his request out in the woods; he had wanted me to sing to him. I could not deny him now; Mom had told me once that people who were unconscious could still hear. So I sang The Valley Song softly into his ear, so not to disturb the other resting in the living room. The room was darkened; the window was cracked open because Hank insisted that it was the way that Peeta slept best. I can't swear to it but I'm sure that I saw him smile.

The next day was filled with snow coats and brief periods of semi-awareness on Peeta's part, just long enough for him to sip water or broth. I was shocked at the number of visitors bringing gifts, they were from the merchant and mining classes alike, I knew that Peeta was well liked but the on slot was overwhelming. Most just left things on the doorstep: jars of jelly, clean bandages, and small crocks of soup. None of the gifts were of great value but I knew that it was more than some could give easily; the prep for the inspector had been hard on a lot of families especially in the Seam.

Haymitch had been visiting when I had questioned about them, gifts, for me, were still hard to receive. "Why are they leaving us this stuff?"

"You two have stirred things up, you've proven that the way things have always been doesn't always have to be. You two don't hide, you aren't shunned like a lot of other couples like you have been. The boy's display won over anybody who hadn't already hadn't been on your side." Haymitch told me.

"What about Gale and Johanna, my parents, and you and your wife?" I asked.

"Johanna an outsider and doesn't count, your mom was disowned by her family and friends, and I was not accepted until Maysilee died." Haymitch sighed and emptied his flask.

I have had a lot of time to think, I've have found myself daydreaming about our future. Peeta's false confession of my pregnancy has made caused images of olive skinned blondes and dark haired babies with blue eyes. Never waiting children before, this stirred up strange feelings within me; I could see myself with Peeta raising a family someday.

/

Now here I sit two days after beating, waiting for Peeta to wake, I'm here alone, Prim has had go to school, mom went home to rest, and Hank is downstairs in the bakery. I sing to Peeta a little louder now; I finally feel my hand being squeezed, the bluest set of eyes I've ever seen finally open and look at me, actually seeing me for the first time for days.

"Hello," I say not sure as to what to say. Then I gingerly kiss his lips, he returns the kiss then winces in pain.

"Oww, uhhh!" he moans then takes a deep breath. "This is not the kind of moaning that I thought I would be doing in this room with you."

I can't help but to laugh, this was so like Peeta, making a joke to make me feel better when he is the one laying in bed injured. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been through a meat grinder." He groans yet smiles. "How long have I been out?"

"Two and a half days." I tell him softly examining his face, just happy to be speaking with him. "I've missed you."

"You were with me the whole time; I could hear you singing to me. It was so beautiful." He smiles at me in awe.

"You know that I should be really mad at you, for taking the blame, you could have been killed." I try to scold him.

"And you _would_ have been killed, then I wouldn't been able to live without you, you're needed more than I am." He admits softly.

"I need you, I love you. I never would have been able to live with myself if…" I trail off with the treat of tears.

Peeta squeezes my hand and tells me. "And that is why I would do it again, just to hear that you love me."

I feel worse now; I never should have waited to tell him, it shouldn't have taken so long for me to figure it out. I hid my feelings from myself in self preservation, thinking that I could not hurt if I did not love him. "I'm so sorry for this, I was so stupid." I say lowly, resting my forehead on his.

"It's okay, it was just a case of really bad timing." he says genuinely, and then follows more lightly. "Did my little show keep our engagement on? I'm sure that Beth Baley won't want me now, a scar covered convicted law breaker who got his lover from the Seam knocked up. Sorry about that by the way, it was the only thing that I could think of to save you."

"It's okay, everyone who knows us knows it not true and that you said it to protect me." I console him.

"Katniss, I'm thirsty can I have some water?"

I feel like crap again that was the first thing that I should have done. "Of course!"

After Peeta ate and drank then there was a knock at the door. I answered it, to my surprise it was Darius, in plain clothes and carrying a small box with a medical symbol on it. I took him into the bedroom. Peeta's manages to lie on his side and talk to Darius.

"Here is some medicine from the Capitol, it will help heal the wounds faster and will help with the pain, and it should cut the recovery time in half. We would have sent it sooner but Cray thought that we should wait until Green and his people left. You saved Cray's job and more, you know?"

Peeta look confused. "How did I do that?"

"Everything you said during the hearing, about the fences always being on, trees being taken down, people too afraid to barter, Green bought it all. Other people were willing to play along after Cray worked to lessen you punishment, and to save Katniss. We just got lucky though, if Green had any brains at all he might have seen through it, but he's just a stupid Capitol pencil pusher, he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. Green is just a dickweed on a power trip." Darius tells us.

"Hey I thought that you were from the Capitol." I say, taken aback by Darius's anti Capitol attitude.

"No, I'm from 2, a lot of us are, that is supposed to be top secret though, most Capitol people are too soft for this line of work." Darius says lowly as if he were trying not to be heard by others.

"During my hearing, I overheard Cray say that there have been problems with rebellious districts elsewhere, is there any truth to that?" Peeta asks matching Darius's tone.

"Yes, we don't know details but there has been trouble in most of the other districts, we don't feel the shortages so much here because of the black market and infrequent enforcement of punishment. The Capitol ignores 12 for the most part; you're small, poor and easily forgotten. There should be an inspection every year at least, but no one wants to come out here, this was the first one in ten years."

We visit for a while longer than Darius leaves. Next my mom comes to check on us. Mom is thrilled to see the medicine and gently applied the ointment onto Peeta's wounds which seem almost instantly better, not fully healed but helped enough that Peeta is gave permission move around the apartment. So I dress Peeta in a pair of pajama pants and drape a sheet around his shoulders, his movements are still stiff from lying in bed for days.

"You can take a shower later, if you're up to it. Just try not to get your back wet." Mom tells Peeta and then goes downstairs to update Hank.

Delly, Madge, and Prim all come to visit next. Delly seems flustered and Madge and Prim are absolutely giddy.

"What's up with you guys?" I ask.

"Delly slapped the living crap out of Beth Baley today!" Madge says proudly. "It was great, and the teachers saw it and did nothing!"

"It was only one slap." Delly admits trying to be serious, but suppressing a smile. "I can't believe that I did that. I had gone up to her to tell her off, I was mad that she had caused my family so much pain. Then she acted like _she_ was the victim, she said that everyone had boycotted her dad's tailor shop and now she had was going to have a hard time finding someone to marry now. And how if Peeta had just enough sense just to screw and not marry seam girls none of this would have happened. I couldn't stop myself I just hauled back and slapped her in the middle of the crowded hall way."

"It was awesome!" Prim says with pride. "Beth's face was priceless. She's going to have a black eye!"

"Serve's the crazy bitch right." Peeta adds with a nod of the head. "Thank you Delly."

Delly blushes and smiles shyly. "You're welcome."

"You haven't heard the best part." Madge says brightly. "My dad and Cray went to Baley's house last night. Dad told them that they had two options: either to compensate the two of you finically and apologize, or Cray would give them a public hearing for bearing false witness, with a possibility of a whipping or time in the stocks! They have until tonight to decide which."

I am floored by what all I am hearing. Delly slapping Beth, people backing Peeta and I, and demanding justice, this is all so surprising to me.

We hear a knock on the door, its Hank and Mom standing in front of a slight, balding man, and Beth, who is sporting a black eye.

Hank turns to Delly and says kindly. "Delly honey, can you take the girls downstairs and watch the shop for me, Rhyes is down there and can use the help."

Delly agrees and takes Prim and Madge down to the bakery.

We are left alone with our parents and the Baley's, I'm sitting on the arm of the chair in which Peeta sets, and we're holding hands. Mom and Hank set on the couch. and Beth stand awkwardly in the middle of the living room, he is nervously playing with his hat in hand, and she stares at floor refusing to look at us.

"We want to apologize for what happened the other day, it was a huge misunderstanding, we just thought that we doing our civic duty." Mr Baley says coolly, this has been a well rehearsed speech.

My mom's face goes beet red and Hank's eyes open big, it is him who responds in disbelief. "Who in the fuck do you think you are fooling?"

"What do you mean?" Mr Baley tries to seem perplexed, and does it poorly.

"For five damn years you've been after Peeta, I told you no every single time!" Hanks answers angrily, it is unnerving, still, to him like this. "It wasn't happen stance that you ratted out Peeta's betrothed a few weeks after find out it was the only path to getting her out of the way? I highly doubt it."

Mr Baley seems beside himself so the he decides to defend his actions. "She's my only child Hank! I want her to have everything she's ever wanted."

"You want to know something? I'm not a toy, I'm a person." Peeta states angrily shaking his fist, and then pulls his hand from mine and eases himself up; I stand at his side so I can support him his hand on my shoulder. "Katniss is the only thing that I ever wanted; I've made that clear to Beth. You, Mr Baley have done a piss poor job raising your daughter; you've done nothing but create one a crazy, selfish pig. Spoiling her has done her no good."

Then Peeta does something totally unexpected he dropped his sheet and turned so that all could see his mangled flesh. Mr Baley turns his head and I can see Beth turn green at the sight.

"It backfired, your plan." I tell them plainly. "Look at it and don't turn away. The sad part is that it looks much better than it did."

There is an uncomfortable silence, and then my mother finally speaks. "What did you come here to accomplish Baley?"

"Beth and I want to apologize on behalf of my family, and to give the kids this." He pulls a small bag out of his coat pocket, it heavy with coins. "It is equivalent to one half of Beth's dowry."

"We don't want your money." I tell him seriously.

"Mayor Undersee said that you'd say that, both of you take it, or Beth and I face a hearing." Mr Baley says pleadingly.

"That's just more incentive not to take it." I say coldly, I would love to see them publically humiliated.

"No Katniss," Peeta puts his arm around my shoulders, to hug me as much as use me as a support. "It's more of a punishment to have her money taken away; everybody already knows what she is. We won't be like her."

Beth stands there, shaking in anger and tears streaking her face. Mr. Baley places the bag in Peeta's free hand, and then nods to Peeta and Hank and turns to leave.

"Wait, we never heard _you_ apologize young lady." Mom calls out in an almost sarcastic tone. "Even my daughters learned better in the Seam."

Her father nudges her with his elbow; Beth glares at us and says unconvincingly. "Sorry."

"That's better you can leave now." Mom sounds satisfied, I've never seen her like this before, and it makes me a little proud.

Baleys turn and leave, when we hear the door shut, we all look at the bag in wonderment.

"Peeta, I don't want it." I tell him honestly.

Peeta weighs the bag in his hand then tosses it to his dad. "I really don't either, but we could use it. We could use some of it finish buying out my brothers' shares, it will help them out too. With the rest we could help others. Prim could have a small dowry, which would piss Beth off to no end, knowing that her dowry was now someone else's." He smiles wickedly.

I can't help but to smile back, he had me convinced. My mom took some coaxing, but Hank and Peeta finally got her to agree.

Mom leaves telling me that I can handle taking care of Peeta myself now, she and Prim have been fighting a series of wintertime ailments and are very nearly overwhelmed. I am to camp out on his couch until he is fully recovered, she or Prim will stop by once a day to check up on him.

Hank follows soon after, he and Graham and Rhyes are helping to move some of his things out of his house, he's going to stay with Rooba for a while.

Peeta and I are left alone; it is different here with a fully alert Peeta. Not knowing what do or say I was relieved when Peeta was the first to speak.

He smiles at me like a little boy that has been told that he could eat cookies for dinner. "Looks like we get to play house _and_ doctor for the next few days."

I can't help but to laugh, I think I know what he means, and I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't looking forward to it too.


	11. Chapter 11

Peeta

'Who would ever think that the greatest pain that you've ever felt in your life could be followed by some of the happiest moments of your life?' I think as I lay in bed beside the woman I love.

/

Having had nearly fell over when her mom gave her permission to stay with me, alone, in the apartment, I was surprised. Lily Everdeen had kept Katniss on a tight leash when it came to private time with me (which I found laughable at times considering the woods was where Katniss had spent much of her time). So I was thrilled; I really hadn't had any time with her in weeks, anyways.

"Looks like we get to play house _and_ doctor for the next few days." After Lily left I told Katniss with a smile, I was teasing her, I wanted to see how she would react. She shocked me when she laughed, almost as if she was in on a conspiracy.

Then she asked softly. "Should we start by getting you into the shower?"

"We?" I inquired. "I thought that you didn't want to see me naked."

"I'm over it," she blushes. "Besides I've been helping to take care of you, so I've gotten a glance once or twice. And I've been informed that it is large but within the normal range, so I'm not so nervous now."

"Awe," I whined playfully. "Does that mean that the rumors have got to stop now? I was enjoying the celebrity status I was receiving."

She laughs, "No we'll keep them going, makes everyone jealous. Come on now, you've got to feel grubby." Katniss led me to the bath room.

I went to bend over to remove my pants, and then I was reminded of the hell that my body had been through, even after the advanced medicine had worked its magic, the pain was still intense.

"Hey, let me help you." Katniss said genteelly, and she removed my pants and my boxers, then started running the shower. I saw her smile to herself, I could tell that she was trying not to look but she must have caught a glance.

I decided not to call her on it that would only embarrass her. Stepping into the shower I let the barely warm water wash over me, trying to not get my back wet was going to be challenging. I was struck speechless when the shower curtain pulled back and Katniss stood before me naked, my jaw dropped. I'd thought she meant to just help me get my hair rinsed out from the outside of the stall. So thankful for the coolness of the water and the pain in my body kept me from reacting, this was not going to be easy.

As she joined me, she just smiled and told me mockingly. "You knew that you were going to have to see me naked some point."

Her body was even more beautiful than I could ever imagine. I take her in, the delicacy of her collar bones, perfect breasts with dark pink tips, and tiny waist that lead down to her flared hips. Forcing my eyes up before they went further down, although I wanted to see more, I looked her in the eye. Katniss climbed in the shower, "Move over, make some room for me."

"What?" was all I could manage, as she put soap on a wash cloth and started to scrub my chest. 'Who is this girl and what did she do with Katniss?' I thought, not that I was complaining.

"You need help, that's what I'm here for." She said not looking me in the eye; as she busied herself with the task of washing me. Suddenly she lifted her gaze to mine and said. "I'm here to do everything I can for the man that I love."

"Do I have a head injury too?" I asked in all seriousness as she washed my body. She was working on my legs when I added. "Because this can't be real, this is more like a bedtime fantasy than real life."

"It's real; I'll prove it to you." Katniss reassured me. Next she reached up cupped my face with her hands, stood on her tippy toes and kissed me tenderly. I set one hand on her hip and the other on the wall to stable myself.

Desperately I tried to think about anything other than nude Katniss standing before me, when dripping wet, lips pressed to mine, I was unsuccessful.

"Sorry," I said quietly after she gasped when my hardness became apparent, brushing against her, my body had forgotten about the pain and luke warm shower.

She smiled shyly and said sweetly. "It's alright; I know that you can't help it. Come on let's get your hair washed so we can eat dinner and get to bed."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, now I really think that this is all in my head.

"Tilt your head down." She commanded me nicely, lathered my scalp with shampoo, and then told me. "I'm hungry, tired and we both need to rest."

"Oh," I couldn't help but to sound disappointed. "I take it that you're going to camp out on the couch."

"No," she said evenly. "I'm going to sleep in your room, in case you need anything. But only if you're going to be a good boy. We'll tell my mom that I slept in the living room. Okay you're done, now it's my turn."

"What do you mean, by good boy?" I am absolutely confused by the signals she's sending. Katniss must see it on my face.

"That means," she cleared her throat as if she was giving herself time to phrase her answer. "For tonight, we will be using the hands above the waist rule, so we won't over excite you."

She started to wash her hair and I took advantage of her eyes being closed to intently watched her. Hell I was already hard what more could I hurt? I fought the urge to touch her, but then I remembered that we were using the waist rule. Surely she had been giving me permission, hadn't she?

She finally shut the water off and towels us dry. Deciding to be bold, I held her close and kissed her, while both naked. The kiss started off soft then intensified. My hand slowly inched up her side and then I asked, "Katniss, can I touch..?"

She nods and began to kiss me again. Gingerly I palmed her warm breast. It fit perfectly in my hand and I gently kneaded it, nothing had ever felt so good. Katniss moaned, her grey eyes grew dark and I pressed myself against her stomach.

Katniss must have been lost in the moment because she instinctively wrapped her arms around my waist. I immediately cried out, her arms drop and she stepped back.

"Ah, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she asked horrified as her hands covered her mouth.

Trying to not let her feel guilty I lied, poorly, "Yeah."

The moment was over.

"Let's get some food in you." She comforted me and then dressed me in some clean flannel pajama pants and applied more ointment. Katniss had borrowed a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, which had to be rolled up at the waist, exposing a very sexy amount of leg.

Katniss served up some soup and bread, my dad had sent up my favorite hardy bread filled with raisens and nuts. I hadn't realized how hungry I had been for solid food. With a full belly I suddenly became sleepy.

Katniss led me to bed and opened the window, then climbed into bed with me.

"You still should sleep on your stomach, my mom said." She reminded me.

I laid out and wrapped my arm around her waist as she lay, facing me, on her side and played with my hair and scratched my scalp gently. Feeling sleep coming, so comforted by her presence and her soothing actions, I drifted off happily.

Katniss kissed my lips and said softly. "Goodnight, my love." Was the last thing I heard before I slept a deep dreamless sleep.

The next day was full. We slept in late and did not wake until we heard a knock at the door. Katniss scrambled out of bed, and quickly put on her clothes, she was relieved when she saw that it was my dad coming up to check on us and bring us muffins for breakfast, she had thought that it might be her mom.

I was still in a lot of pain but a little better than the day before, Katniss took care of me, it was a side of her that I had only caught glimpse of while she was with Prim. Seeing her in this way caused me to fall just a little bit deeper in love with her, I never could've imagined that it was possible. About noon after lunch Katniss suggested that we take a nap, citing that it would be the best time, because later in the day we would have visitors after people get out of school and off of work.

My bedroom was chilly; we had forgotten to close the window. Climbing into bed, I had just settled on my belly.

"Can I borrow a sweater?" Katniss asked.

"Yeah, they're in the closet." I told her, but the second I spoke I remember what was in the closet… the porn stash. In my mind I scream 'Shit. Shit. Fucking Shit. I hope that she doesn't find…'

Too late, Katniss looked at me, mouth agape, and eyes wide. "Peeta Mellark what is this?" She held a large brown paper bag with a bow and labeled in very large print 'PORN' with one thin line through it, and underneath in much smaller print it read 'instructional videos- for educational use only- PEETA'.

Damn it! I couldn't even deny it my name was on it. I eased myself into a setting position and I tried to explain. "Katniss, you have to understand its part of a family tradition."

"Family tradition?" She said in disbelief.

"Yeah, read the letter inside." I told her hoping that what was in bag would help my case.

Katniss opened the bag and reads the note aloud. "Dear Little Peeta Bread," she gave me a curious look then continued reading. "Congratulations you are the newest recipient of the Mellark manhood training kit. Use it well, so your wedding night is not briefly spent doing the two pump jump. Love your big brothers." She finished reading and gave me look that was scolding but quickly turned into an awkward grin.

"Every time one of us gets married, the night before the next in line is presented with 'educational videos'." I told her honestly. "The night before Rhyes's toasting he, Graham and I sat around, drank some beer and smoked cigars. We all talked, remembering old times and just being guys. At the end of the night, I got presented with the bag. Graham got the videos years ago in a card game with some Peacekeepers, it's been a prank gift ever since."

Katniss had during my speech had opened the bag and looked at the contents, and of course she pulled out the raunchiest one of the half dozen movies. On the cover was an overly enhanced, green skin, tattooed, Capitol woman, who did not have a single hair on her body, save for the pink wig on her head. There was also an equally bizarre looking man with a member that made even mine look like a sad sausage link.

"Is this a porn or a horror movie?" she asked red faced as she looked at the cover. "Cause it is more of a turn off than a turn on, that's scary."

I'm really shocked that Katniss even handled the movies, as prudish as she was. "They don't even look like people!" She looked amused. "Wow, cocks are even uglier looking hairless!"

"Gee, thanks!" I laughed. I can't believe that I'm this conversation with Katniss Everdeen. "So is mine ugly?"

"No," her cheeks were burning; her eyes were down cast, suddenly too shy to look at me. "I like yours…Peeta why would you watch these?"

Knowing that I had to be cautious in how I answered, because I didn't think 'cause I'm a guy' would cut it. Taking a deep breath, I explained. "I don't watch the raunchy ones, they gross me out too, just the tamer ones, I'm trying… I just want to make sure that I don't mess anything up… I want to make it good for you…You know when we get married and start doing stuff, I know that the first time can be… difficult."

"Oh, Peeta," Katniss put down the bag and came and sat on her knees on the bed in front of me, took my hand, and looked me in the eye. "I trust you, I love you, I know that you'll take care of me in every possible way."

"I want to make you happy in every way." I confessed to her.

"I know you do." She leaned in to hug me and then much to my surprise she whispers seductively in my ear and I could feel her hot breath. "And who said we had to wait to be married to start messing around, we came dangerously close last night."

My mouth went dry, I swallowed stunned and replied. "I thought that you would want till after the toasting."

Katniss looked at me intently, and then said softly. "Well maybe we'll wait till then to do _everything_ , but _some things_ we could start now. You know, just to get better _acquainted_ with each other."

That being said Katniss inched closer and pressed her lips to mine, her hands on my chest exploring. Our kiss quickly deepened our tongues danced and we moaned into each others' mouths. I had been leaning slightly back supporting my weight with my arms behind me, I shifted slightly so I could reach one hand under Katniss's shirt, much to my pleasant surprise she wasn't wearing a bra. While I kneaded her breast much like I had the night before, I brushed her nipple with my thumb. She took a sharp breath, so I did it again only more firmly.

Katniss started to kiss my neck and her hand disappeared under my waist band as she grasped my already hard cock. Pleasure coursed through me. Her hand felt so good and I moaned her name loudly.

Katniss responded by pulling down my pants and boxers enough to expose me and grasped my member even harder. "Peeta show me how you like it." She pleadingly whispered.

I wrapped my hand around hers and showed her a rhythm I found pleasurable, "Just like that!"

I leaned back again and used my hands to grip the sheets, I knew I wouldn't be able to hold on for long as I could felt it build. I watched as Katniss stroked me, she seemed to be enjoying it too. She looked fascinated with her task and started to move faster. She stared me in the eyes and said in an incredibly sexy tone. "Does this feel good Peeta? I want to make you cum!"

"Fuck… Katniss… I'm cumming!" Her words had sent me over the edge, I warned her just in time, cum spurted out all over my own stomach and chest. Katniss looked at me in amazement and then smiled shyly as he handed me a towel to clean myself off.

"Wow! I hadn't expected that today." I said breathlessly before kissing Katniss tenderly. My head was now light and I was spent, this had exhausted me, I went to lay back.

"Oh, no Peeta, not on your back, lay on your stomach." Katniss warned gently and helped me turn over. "I'm sorry was that too much?"

"No, that was perfect." I whispered, suddenly guilt over took me, I hadn't taken care of her and wanted to desperately. But drowsiness was over taking me; our encounter had exhausted my already stressed body. "I want to touch you but…"

Katniss lay next to me and said softly. "Shh, I know, don't worry you will. I just wanted to do that for you right now, I've been wanting too. Come on lets sleep for a while."

I was too drained to complain. Although I did have a request, that I asked her while giving her my puppy dog face. "Katniss, can you sleep topless? It will make me feel better."

She answered by rolling her eyes, setting up and quickly removing her shirt and then laid back down snuggled next to me, pressing her skin against mine, and smiled. "Is that better?"

"Much better, I love you."

"I love you too." Katniss said sweetly and kissed my cheek.

I fell asleep with a huge smile on my face.

Waking up a few hours later, I reached over to find Katniss' side of the bed empty. I could hear Katniss clambering in the kitchen, chatting with someone. Getting up and wrapping myself in my sheet I went out to join her and our guest.

I found Lily Everdeen setting in my kitchen sipping tea. Upon seeing me she smiled and asked. "Katniss said that you feeling much better."

Answering quickly I said. "Yeah, Katniss is a very attentive nurse, I'm in good hands." Oh crap, did that sound as dirty to everyone else as it just had to   
me?

Katniss gave me a red faced, wide eyed glare from behind her mom's back.

Lily obviously hadn't thought anything of the comment and sat me down on a stool and examined my back. "It looks much better today, you can wear a shirt again, you could sleep on your side for a while now, you can lie on your back, but only for a few minutes at a time. In a few days you can start going back to work, but I think that wrestling is done for." Lily said the last part consolingly.

"That's alright," I said somberly. I've had a lot my mind. "Wrestling is kids' stuff, I don't feel much like a kid anymore, and I've got bigger things to worry about."

Lily did not press the issue, but Katniss gave me a questioning look.

The rest of the day was filled with visitors: my dad, brother, sisters-in-laws and my nephew Jack who was very concerned about my back, no one had told him how it had happen.

"Did Grandma do it?" Jack asked quietly and wide eyed. All of the adults in the room tried not to laugh.

I decided that I needed to change the subject. "So Jack," I said brightly. "What do you want? A baby brother or sister?"

"Brother, no stupid girls, they're yucky!"Jack insisted firmly.

"I thought you liked girls, mommy is a girl, Aunt Delly is a girl, and Katniss is a girl. You like her." I teased him, he hid his face bashfully. He'd had a huge crush on Katniss and was upset when he realized she was going to be my wife. "She isn't yucky is she? I really like her." I gave Katniss a sly wink when no one was looking, she blushed in return.

Jack was also blushing and said in an embarrassed way. "Stop, it Uncle Peeta!"

After a while, finally our visitors left and we were alone again. Katniss was washing up some dishes at the sink when I came up behind her and pulled the tie out of her braid and loosened it, sending it loose over her shoulders in waves. I moved her hair aside and kissed and nipped her neck playfully. My hands snaked from her hips and moved up to her breasts, I found that they were not free like they had been earlier.

"Awe, you put a bra on." I whined.

Katniss leaned into me and said seductively. "You know that it does come off?" She grabbed me by the hand and led me into the bedroom.

I shut the door behind us. Katniss sat on the edge of the bed and looked at me, almost as if she wanted me to make the next move. I was more than happy to, after what she did for me earlier. Kneeling on the floor in front of her, I kissed her passionately, and held her close. Next I removed her shirt, after I got her nod of approval and her bra came off next as did my shirt. I nibbled her earlobe and kissed a trail down her neck then took one breast in hand, my lips hovered over the other, I looked to Katniss, who watched in awe, as I opened my mouth took a very hard tip inside it, gently licking and sucking on it. Katniss moaned my name. The taste of her flesh and the sound of my name were intoxicating. I wanted all of her in every way, but that would have to wait. For now I was just going to take my time and make her feel the same way she'd made me feel, when she jerked me off.

Standing her up, I removed her jeans and underwear. I took a moment admire her beauty, from head to toe, finally allowing myself to gaze at the juncture of her thighs. Katniss blushed as I looked at her, in the dim light. "Do you like what you see?"

"No," I smiled at her. "I love it!" I patted the side of the bed for her to sit again and she did. I parted her legs so that I had one on either side of my waist. I kissed her lips and she returned it hungrily, her moans told me that she was ready for my touch. I brought her to the very edge of the bed one hand raised to squeeze her breast, while the other lovingly touched her entrance. It was already wet. She gasped and gripped my shoulders with her hands, as I inserted one finger. It felt like nothing that I've ever experienced; warm, tight and wet. My cock ached in my pants, screaming to be loose, but I fought it, right now was all about her.

Pumping into her with my finger, she called out urging me on. "Oh, Peeta!"

I added another and pumped faster, and then another long dreamt of fantasy came to mind as I couldn't deny myself, I had to taste her.

"Katniss, lay on your back." I urged her softy, with my fingers still moving in her. "Just trust me."

She looked confused but did as I asked.

I added my mouth licking her bundle of nerves, still pumping her. Within moments I felt her tensed up, her hands tangled in my hair.

"Oh, Peeeetaa, I think…I think…Ahh!" Katniss yelled out as her walls contracted around my fingers, I know that I have accomplished my goal.

I crawled onto the bed next to a glowing, and still panting Katniss who looked at me and said in amazement. "Peeta, I never knew that, that was possible, wow. Where did you learn that? Educational video?"

"Maybe." I said coyly, not really wanting to admit it blatantly.

She looked down and stared at the bulge in my pants. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'll be fine. I'll go work it out later if you want me to."

Her grey eyes sparkle at me as she told me. "No, I want to do it now."

While I'm thinking that I didn't hear her right, she yanked off my pants and gripped my cock and pumped me vigorously. At that pace I wasn't going to last long, especially after all of my earlier stimulation.

"Peeta, trust me." Katniss whispered to me, then opened her mouth wide and took me in her mouth, I thought I was going to cum just at the sight, but I was able to hang on briefly. She bobbed up and down and I warned her that I was getting ready, she just kept on going. I released and to my surprise she swallowed.

Every time I thought Katniss could not become any sexier, she did. Just like every time I thought that couldn't I love her anymore I did.

Katniss whispered in my ear sleepily yet happily. "We had better set a date for the wedding soon, because I want to know when we can do this every day."

I agreed I can't wait until I can sleep like this every night, wrapped up with the woman I love.

"Oh, and Peeta?" She added quietly, with a smile. "Can you please get those porn… um, educational movies out of the house they give me the creeps."

We both giggled before we fell into a peaceful sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Katniss

"Alright now, line up your target. Okay, good, now release." I tell Peeta as I give him an archery lesson. He has surprised me with how fast of a study he is. At this rate he'll be better than Gale soon, his attention to detail helps I think. Or it could be the rewards system that we've set up. Each of us gets rewarded with varying degrees of kisses, touches and other little prizes, which make us tingle.

"Bulls eye!" Peeta announces proudly, with a wide smile on his face. He instantly drops his bow and picks me up swinging me around. "Do I get my prize now? I think that it should be extra special since it's my first bulls eye."

"You know that I still beat you right? I got three bull's eyes." I tease him.

"Great!" He whispers huskily in my ear. "That means that I get to make you cum three times and you get me to cum once, I still win either way. So tell me do we collect here or back at our apartment?"

I moan as he nibbles my ear. "It's not our apartment yet and it won't be for a while." I remind him. After a moment of consideration I give in. "But the apartment would be best, it's chilly out today. And plus, if we start now we won't get anything else done all day."

Peeta takes me by the hand and picks up the full game bag and we check the snares one last time as we head back to town. This has been our new Sunday routine, hunting, archery and fooling around, although not always in that order.

I feel at home walking through the woods, even more so when I bring Peeta out here. He usually draws while I hunt, or practices with a bow and arrow. Teaching Peeta how to shoot has been a challenge, to say the least. The close physical contact typically winds up with us doing very naughty things with our pants down. I never thought that I, Katniss Everdeen could be prevailed upon to do such things, but Peeta has an effect on me that I can't fight. After the whipping I had promised myself that I was going to be more affectionate and loving with him. But even I was shocked with how far I had taken that promise, that day being in his bed I couldn't help myself.

Winter has finally waned and spring is on the horizon, Peeta's birthday has come and gone. Our engagement is intact and my personal life has never been happier.

I was finally able to give him his hunting boots. Peeta wears them with pride and loves to show me his 'quiet' walk, in the woods. Delly and Rhyes said that the pelts, the deer skin and Peeta's antlers were left in the shoe store step the day after inspector Green left. No one knew how they got there. We will never know if it was a friendly Peacekeeper or some random members of the crowd that watched the whipping.

I also was able to give him a new set of oil paints, courtesy of Beth Baley's dowry money. Peeta's gifts were the only thing that I had bought with the 'dirty coins'. As much as I hated taking the money, I felt like a little revenge had been served. When Beth was present at the luxury goods store, looking even more sour than usual. I picked up the paints and I told the cashier, with a smile on my face. "Oh, my fiancé will love these, he has an extraordinary talent. Peeta Mellark is an incredible man." She stomped out of the store, forgetting to pay for the make up in hand, and was followed the manager. Prim who was with me, nearly fell over laughing. I couldn't help smile too.

Peeta loved his boots and the sentiment behind them had not been lost, in fact they meant even more now. They were a representation of the all of the pain and suffering that we had endured and lived through together. He also gushed over his paints and promised to paint a portrait of me, like he had for Madge.

I also made sure that we got some special, alone time together after all of the other guests left. As great as it had been the first time, it was even better in the arms of fully healed Peeta. He picked me up and carried me into bed. We experimented with each others' bodies for hours, testing types of touches and speeds. Although it nearly broke my heart to run my hands over his scarred back, he wore them like a badge of honor and physical proof of his love for me. Peeta told me consolingly. "You wear my pearl, someday you'll were my ring, and I'll wear your lashes forever, happily. This is how we let everybody know that we belong to each other."

We've been pushing our boundaries, going farther than I ever planned. If it weren't for Peeta's resolve to wait until we're married to do 'everything', the deed would have been done by now. I can't see how he does it because from what I understand stopping is harder for men, and its kills me to stop.

Alone time together had been hard to come by after Peeta had become well enough to return to work. Mom expected me to return home, it was the hardest thing that I ever had to do, save for watching the whipping itself. Back in the Seam, which no longer seemed like home, sleep evades me. Peeta was my home now. My old nightmares of my father's finale moments in the mines were joined by new ones. Peeta at the whipping post, sometimes dying and other times screaming hateful words at me. I wake from fitful sleep wishing that his strong arms were around me. I ached inside with anticipation, in more than one way, wanting nothing more than to be his wife.

The toasting had become a contentious subject in my house after I mentioned to my mom that I was thinking of asking Peeta if he wanted to get married sooner than June, at the end of school. Mom argued that we would not finish school if we got married.

When we went back to school after the whipping we both agreed that it felt pointless to go, the lessons were meaningless. We had jobs secured at the bakery. Peeta was now a fully fledged partner having been able to buy out his brothers, and already being in possession of all of the skills to run it. I had been thinking often of the comment that he had made while he was recovering, 'I don't feel much like a kid anymore, and I've got bigger things to worry about'. I couldn't help but to agree that we were no longer children.

Watching the final wrestling matches was harder on me, than it was on Peeta. I still thought that I was the reason that he couldn't compete. "I already won once, besides I think that I've proven my toughness." He told me with a smile, as he wrapped his arm around me during the final match. We all cheered when Peeta's friend Wesley, beat out the blonde gorilla Casper Boyle, who had a good sixty pounds on him.

While my personal life is on a high note, life out in the real world has been more challenging. Chaos in the Capitol is apparent even through all of the propaganda that we all see on the TV.

Since the whipping shortages have become a more common occurrence, Peeta and Hank have had to dip into their emergency stocks and now totally shut the shop on Sundays. Unfortunately other businesses did not have the forethought to plan ahead. The trickledown effect had now hit hardest in the Seam, even with the Hob back in full swing.

Whispers of rebellions elsewhere are more frequent, some even mention trying to raise one here. I've noticed that Peeta listens intently, although, I don't know how I feel about revolution.

After all, the last revolution put us in this mess we're in. The dark days were what caused the Capitol to take our citizen statuses away and gave them free reign over or lives in general. The Capitol blew away district 13, segregated the rest of us into districts and specialized each to the point that none could ever support themselves without help. For example, District 11 grew the majority of the food, but were powerless without our coal to power their generators and to heat their homes. We were all just cogs in the Capitol's machine.

What would happen if we rebelled again? Would we win rights and freedoms? Or would we only do ourselves more harm?

"Hey there beautiful, what are you thinking about?" Peeta asks as he squeezes my hand as we approached the fence. "You've been quiet, even more so than usual. Is there something wrong?"

I look into his brilliantly blue eyes and ask in a low tone. "Peeta what do you think we should do if there is a rebellion?"

He examines me carefully and answers seriously. "I think that we should fight. We need to put an end to the tyranny. We ought to be able to decide how to live our lives. The government is the reason why the Seam and the merchants don't mix, you know that right?"

I think to myself, Gale had said this in the past, during one of his rants in the woods. That the splitting of the district, making one half hate the other, benefitted Panem's rulers. A population of eight thousand united was potentially threatening, two groups of four thousand, squabbling with each other, was not.

The merchants controlled much of the wealth while the miners in the Seam just barely got by. Betrothals were part of this system, I could see that more clearly now, having been a part of it. For many merchant families the only way to ensure a good future for their children was to arrange a marriage with somebody who was also going to bring some wealth to the match, or at least a valuable skill that would promise the ability to bring in money. Most people from the Seam had neither wealth nor trade skills. We were considered unworthy of training, as a whole. Haymitch and Gale were the only ones that I've ever known of to jump classes and their success was helped by the status of their spouses.

I hug Peeta tightly and I shudder, thinking of how our relationship had be the odds on a hundred different levels. It could have turned out so different.

"I love you so much." I squeeze him tightly and tell him honestly. "I'm so happy that…That we're together."

Peeta lifts my chin raising my eyes to his gaze. "You know, I would have been a coal miner for you. I would have done any awful job deep in the ground if it meant that I got to come home to you every night."

I nod, and shudder again, thinking of Peeta in the mines, physically he could do it, but his creative soul would've been crushed. Just the thought of Peeta meeting the same fate as my father, blown to bits, made my stomach turn. I never would have allowed it. Telling Peeta this would only cause at little argument and that would serve no purpose, so I let it drop. I just want to enjoy my time alone with this incredible man, both emotionally and physically, show him how much I love him.

"So what you think about a rebellion?" Peeta questions me softly; this subject is always talked about in this tone. "You never said what you thought."

"I really don't know. Is what we stand to lose, going to be worth what we stand to gain? I haven't made up my mind yet." I admit. Then I change the subject, eager to get to our archery prizes, and to think of nothing else. "Come on let's go divvy out our hull and go to the Hob, so we can get back home."

Peeta's eyes twinkle at the suggestion, and he kisses me deeply, pulling my body against his. Filling me with desire and longing. Finally we separate and crawl under the fence. We walk through the Seam and hand out some rabbits and fowl to some of the most unfortunate families, widowed mothers, the sick and elderly. We want to pay back the kindnesses that we received after the whipping, although we never will be able to fully. Most would be too proud to take meat so we leave it on the porches and back door steps. We don't want any gratitude, we just want to be useful.

Finally when we're left with nothing but a couple squirrels and ground hog we visit the Hob. As we make the rounds we try to buy as much as we can from as many vendors as we can, spreading out our good fortune. Peeta had already saved and earned much of the money needed to buy out his brothers' shares. Baley's money had given us more than enough to finish paying off the shares, give Prim a small dowry, and to share with people around us. Beth's dowry must have been huge. I could imagine that only Madge has a bigger one in the district.

While making the rounds we're waved to and greeted with a big smile by every Peacekeeper we meet, this confuses me. Why are they all so friendly today? When we run into Darius we find out why.

"Hey, guys." He meets us with a smile and turns to Peeta. "You've made me the most popular Peacekeeper in the barracks. It's been a long time since we've had any new ones; they're hard to come by out here."

"What could Peeta do to make you popular with the other Peacekeepers?" I ask, totally ignorant of what they're talking about.

Peeta turns to me, with an embarrassed smile on his face. "I wanted to thank Darius for all of the helps he gave us. So, I did what you asked and got rid of them. I gave him the educational movies."

"Oh." I say as I realize what had transpired. My face is red; I'm a little grossed out by knowing how the Peacekeepers spend their free time.

Our final stop is as always Greasy Sae's counter, to eat some lunch, visit and trade. She greets me with a smile and Peeta with a wink and a coy smile. "How's my favorite blonde today? Got any breadsticks for me today?"

Peeta turns a little pink but plays along. He and Sae now have this little game where they say naughty things using allusions. Whoever laughs first loses. Much to their shared amusement a lot of these jokes come at my expense. If I didn't care for them both so much I'd be upset for being made fun of.

"Sorry Sae, no." Peeta apologizes, seeming genuine. "Ever since the rationing, I can't make up many of them. And when I do Katniss gets greedy with them, she doesn't like to share."

"Oh, what a selfish girl." Sae chides, and raises an eyebrow at me. I just respond by shaking my head and trying not to turn red.

"But I did grab your buns for you." Peeta says as he presents Sae with a bag with of cheese buns, totally stone faced. He is winning so far. "You may have to fight Katniss for those too. They're her favorite; she doesn't like another woman's hands on my buns."

"Well I don't blame her." Sae laughs, she knows she lost. "Those are some hard earned buns."

After a bowl of soup and some more off color comments we finally leave the Hob with a handful of squirrels in hand that will be for our dinner, Mom and Prim will be coming over.

Making our way back to the bakery, we are met by a bizarre sight. Haymitch Abernathy is walking along side of a woman wearing a pink wig, impossibly high heels, a lime green suit dress and a silly smile. She is chatting non-stop; Haymitch appears not to be listening.

Upon seeing us he stops and flags us down. Peeta and I look at each other, curiosity gets the best of us, and we approach.

"Miss Trinket," Haymitch, attempts to get the motor mouthed woman's attention, she is carrying on about how gloomy everything looks. So Haymitch says a little louder and more forcefully. "Miss Trinket! Here are some of my favorite clients now. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, they're getting married in a few months. Kids this is Miss Effie Trinket, the new district liaison, she'll be with us for a few months."

District liaisons were the Capitols way to make sure that we looked presentable when cameras came here for important events. They also audited social services such as the marriage brokers. No wonder Haymitch looks annoyed. It's been years since we've actually seen one. We don't get the Capitol's attention much, thankfully.

"Oh, what a lovely couple!" She looks truly pleased to meet us, until she looks my clothes over, a brief look of bewilderment crosses her face. It quickly passes when Peeta flashes his most charming smile and extends his hand to shake hers.

"How do you do Miss Trinket? It's so nice to meet you." Peeta says honestly, he loves people in general.

I follow suit, she's not so impressed with me, but still pleasant. "Miss Mellark, how luck you are to have such a handsome fiancé!"

"Actually this is Miss Everdeen and that is Mr Mellark." Haymitch corrects her.

"Oh, with such unusual first names I was confused." She says to excuse herself. I can't tell if she is being insulting or just ignorant. Suddenly see seems to recognize us, claps her hands and spouts. "This is your class jumping couple! Well it's nice that one of you merchants has finally gotten over this whole coal miner thing and picked a bride that was in the best interest of Panem!"

We cast her confused looks. Miss Trinket elaborates. "You picked a bride based on genetic diversity, and not on wealth. Therefore you'll have healthier offspring, better for Panem."

Haymitch rolls his eyes and gives us a 'just let it go' look. So we just shake our heads. Does she really think that people base their choice of spouse on the best interest of the government?

"Miss Trinket is here to clean up the district for Miss Undersee's wedding, she wants to make us look presentable. She is also introducing a new genetic diversity program." Haymitch tells us sarcastically, it is lost on her.

"Yes, I want to take this opportunity present 12 in a good light! Try to get some new blood in here. Your gene pool is awfully stagnant. If I can get some new blood here then I might get transferred to a better district!" Miss Trinket says happily.

She is definitely ignorant, I decide.

Trying to bring in new blood to the district has been a difficult task. This not a popular place to transfer to. Johanna had been one of the very few transfers here since the program started ten years ago. There have been more exports than imports.

Peeta trying to be polite asks. "So what does this new program entail? May I ask?"

"What wonderful manners!" Miss Trinket gushes in her thick obnoxious Capitol accent. "And they said that everyone here is a vulgar and unintelligent, what a pleasant surprise. Well, Mr Mellark instead of just bringing individuals we're going to bring in whole families and young couples. In fact a very charming young couple is coming in few weeks, from district 4, the Odairs, they're expecting a baby. In fact Mr. Odair is going to be Haymitch's new apprentice. Oh I have a lovely idea! You two should help to welcome the Odairs, show them around, that would be wonderful…" She prattles on and on.

All I hear after a while is blah, blah, blah. I find myself thinking 'does she ever shut up'? Haymitch sneaks a drink from his flask while Miss Trinket chatters. Fighting a laugh as Haymitch starts to roll his eyes, bob his head and move his lips as she carries on, oblivious to his actions.

Peeta who has managed to keep his interested face on finally get some words in while Miss Trinket takes a breath. "Why, that would be very nice, we would love to help welcome the new arrivals. Wouldn't we Katniss?"

I just nod my head, not quite sure what I've just agreed to, and all I want is to get away from this woman. She's cutting into my Peeta time. I decide to take some action. "Peeta, dear?" I say in a very girly and proper tone, that is not my own. "Mother and Primrose will be over soon for dinner and it won't be ready. We should get going now, if we don't want dinner to be tardy."

"Well I shouldn't keep you any longer, tardiness is unforgivable. It was so lovely to meet you! And Miss Everdeen please, wear something nice…That is if you have anything. Goodbye!" Miss Trinket waves to us, even the Capitol style of waving is silly. Her hand is cupped while she rotates her wrist. Thankfully Peeta and I can keep our giggles with held till she is well down the street still chattering on.

"Poor Haymitch!" I say, after I get all of my giggles out. "We should send him a few more bottles so he can deal with her."

"She seems serious about her job. Maybe she can do us some good." Peeta is being Peeta, seeing the best in people. One of the reasons I admire him so much, I saw her and couldn't get past the wig.

"What are we suppose to do? I zoned out there for a while." I admit.

"Why, you're inattentive girl!"Peeta mocks me in a Capitol accent. "We're are to meet the Odairs and show them around town, be friendly. It will help Haymitch out if we do."

"Okay, we can do that." I agree. We owe Haymitch too; being kind to his apprentice isn't too much to ask. Now all I want to do is get Peeta back to the apartment, without anymore interruptions. My mom and sister will be over in a few hours and I want to not have the 'we just did bad things' look on our faces. "Now let's go collect on those bull's eyes!"

The moment we step in the door Peeta drops the game bag and immediately throws his arms around me and his lips meet mine enthusiastically. I feel my already gnawing hunger for him only intensify. I'm already wet and I know that Peeta will tease me and make me beg for release, which I both hate and love him for.

Peeta grabs my ass and lifts me up, my legs instinctively wrap around his waist. I place hot kisses along his jaw and down his neck, as he carries me to bed.  
"We've got an hour." Peeta tells me in a ragged voice.

"Huh?" I groan as I suck on his neck.

"One hour…" Peeta shallows hard, trying to keep his concentration as his member hardens to the point that I know it hurts him. "One hour until we need to have dinner started."

"Okay, we can do that." I nod as he lowers me down onto the bed. We quickly undress each other down to our underwear, trying to not go too fast. Resuming our kissing, Peeta crawls on top of me, my legs are around him. His weight is both comforting and a turn on. Our hips grind against each other, his length rubbing my wetness. Peeta dips his head down nips at my breasts, causing me to moan and pull on his boxers, which he promptly removes. While he is off me I quickly remove my panties.

Peeta looks me up and down questionably. We've tried to avoid both of us being totally naked at the same time. Once we nearly 'slipped' up. "Katniss, what are you?..." He doesn't know what to say.

"Trust me, boundaries are up. Come lay down." I urge him using my sexiest voice, the one he finds hard to resist. He does what I ask wide eyed and smiling.

I stroke his cock for a little while as I kneel beside him. Next I press his length against his stomach and I mount his waist, rubbing myself against him. The feeling was incredible, our sexes grind together, creating friction. Moans escape from both of us. Peeta first plays with my breasts and teases my nipples. I can feel my pleasure mounting. He must be getting close too, judging by his moaning. His hands grasp my hips and move me faster, pushing me over the edge. We call out each other names as we both release at the same moment, a first for us.

"Wow that was awesome!" Peeta praises me.

"Yeah!" I agree and fall beside of Peeta, and try to catch my breath as he cleans us up with his discarded t-shirt. When we're all cleaned up Peeta starts to kiss and knead my breasts again.

"What are you doing?" I ask curiously.

Peeta gives me that mischievous grin that I love so much and says. "Don't you remember? You got three bull eyes and I only got one. I owe you for two."

I giggle, thinking to myself that being a good shot has never felt so good.


	13. Chapter 13

Peeta

Katniss, Finnick and I stealthily make our way up the darkened ally that leads to the empty warehouse that's used to house the Hob during the day. We're attending a rebellion meeting.

Finnick Odair has quickly become a good friend and trusted confidant in the short time that we've known him and his wife. Nearly every evening for the last two weeks Katniss and I have spent with the Odairs, with Gale and Johanna often joining us. We've become like a little family.

I remember the day that we met him and I smile.

/

It's was the middle of April and unseasonably warm. I walked with Katniss to the newly spruced up train station. I gave Miss Trinket credit, she knew how to get things done and done well. She had employed school kids, the elderly and anyone who could be spared for a few hours at a time to help clean up the district. All of those who could help could count on a good meal and coin or two. Since Miss Trinket had been here we had also noticed that the shortages have not been as severe. Although things like paper, fresh produce and cloth were still slow to arrive and were heavily rationed.

When Miss Trinket first showed up some people were apprehensive. Many thought that the same rules that stood while the inspector was here would apply again. But that idea was quickly dismissed. She did not seem to either notice or even care about the fence other than how displeasing to the eye it was. How people lived their lives or fed their family was not her concern as long as they could present themselves well. Miss Trinket simply did not care.

We must have looked like one bizarre welcoming committee. Effie Trinket was clad in a florescent orange wig and a bright teal dress. Haymitch had cleaned up the best he could and was nearly sober. He was actually clean shaven and his hair was combed back. Katniss and I were in our best hand me downs. She was in a pretty, sleeveless yellow dress, which complimented her olive skin perfectly. I was in my khaki pants, and a button up blue shirt.

Effie absolutely made all over me and complimented on my eyes and thick wavy hair. She also told Katniss. "Oh, you look so much prettier in girl's clothes! Now if we could get some make up on you. You could really be something special."

Katniss said in a tone I know to be insincere, but to Miss Trinket sounded complementary. "Thank you Miss Trinket."

"Please call me Effie." She interrupted.

"Okay, _Effie_." Katniss said not totally sure of herself. Apparently Katniss hadn't thought that they were on that friendly of terms. "You're looking awfully….colorful today."

"Oh, thank you dear!" She replied, sounding truly impressed.

After Effie walked away to scold Haymitch about something, I hug Katniss and whispered in her ear. "Awh, look we're making new friends today."

"Shut up. At least I didn't slap her." Katniss whispered back with a smile.

Suddenly our attention was turned towards the voices approaching the train platform. Much to our surprise Gale was guiding a very pregnant Johanna up the station's steps. She was about seven months along. Although everybody had been told that she was only five months, along so they could pretend that it is a honeymoon baby.

"Damn it Gale! I'm pregnant not crippled! You don't need to smother me. I can manage to climb a few steps!" Johanna says loud enough for all to hear. Not that she cared.

'If Katniss was uncouth by Effie's standards I can only imagine what she'll think of Johanna', I thought to myself, smiling.

Katniss walked over to a bench and waved Johanna over. It warmed my heart to see them becoming friends. They're cut from the same cloth, tough and resilient.

Gale approached me and said in pure frustration, under his breath. "I swear I can't do anything right! She runs hot then cold. Either I'm not being caring enough or I'm smothering her. I just can't win."

I patted him on the back and told him in an upbeat tone. "Be thankful that she doesn't have access to any axes."

"Yeah, I am." Gale chuckled.

Gale and I now have an odd relationship. We're friends; we don't really want to admit it though. There was nobody in the world that I hated more a mere six months ago, but that has changed. Gale helped me to save Katniss, for which I'll always be thankful. Also he is good husband to Johanna and my Aunt Rooba has nothing but good things to say about him. And I have to remember that my engagement to Katniss was caused by his lack of self control. So in a way I have him thank for that too. (I've said it before; I'm glad that Hawthorne is a horny bastard.)

Katniss and Gale's relationship is still very strained but since the whipping she will at least acknowledge his presence. I can tell that he wants her friendship back. But she's not ready for that yet.

"What are you guys doing here anyways?" I asked Gale, I had thought that just Katniss and I were supposed to help meet the newcomers.

"That crazy looking Capitol woman tracked Johanna down. She's supposed to be pregnant buddies with the wife. Trinket wants her to tell them about how _wonderful_ life here is. I don't know why, they're stuck here now. Once you step foot here you can't leave." Gale told me quietly. His eyes searched for Effie who was on the opposite side of the platform inspecting the new paint job. Then he looked at me, concern on his face. "Does anything about this seem funny to you?"

I just nodded. I would've been lying if I said 'no', especially knowing that Gale and Johanna had been asked to be there too. There's was something odd going on, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"We're having a meeting, just a few people in the warehouse in a couple of weeks." Gale whispered low. "I've been debating inviting you…But I think that you're on the same page as us."

I'm confused and it must show on my face. So Gale elaborated, and mouthed the word 'rebellion'.

"Katniss?" I asked lowly.

"If you think she's ready bring her. She has no love for the government but I know that she's afraid of the uncertainty. Although you can persuade her like no one else can." Gale replied. Our conversation was cut short by the sound of the incoming train. We went to go stand with the girls to greet the passengers.

"I don't know what in world is so fucking special about the Odairs. I didn't get this kind of welcome." Johanna huffed just loud enough for Gale, Katniss and I to hear. We were standing a few feet behind Effie and Haymitch.

The train finally came to a halt and the doors opened. Much to our surprise three men with camera backed out. Two of them turned to face us. The third was poised on perhaps the most attractive couple that I'd ever seen. First I noticed a lovely, tall, shapely, green eyed woman in her early twenties, with masses of chocolate brown hair and a tiny baby bump. She had a sweet but sad expression on her face. This was Annie Odair.

Finnick Odair caught my attention not so much for his movie star good looks which he has in spades. But for the charisma the exuded from him, he smiled and you can't help but to return it. He is also tall, with tanned skin, bronze colored hair and the same green eyes as his wife.

The couple was being greeted by Haymitch and Effie. I noticed Johanna's jaw drop the she turned to Gale and said. "Wow honey, you've got some competition for prettiest man in district 12 now." Next she elbowed me in the ribs and said with a wink. "Hey Peeta, should we ask him to drop his pants and see if you get to keep the title of the biggest breadstick? I'll be the judge! I'd ask Katniss help but I think she'd run of the platform screaming."

Katniss, Johanna and I laughed quietly. Gale gave Johanna a scolding look, but wound up smiling too.

Effie had practically thrown herself at the couple and film crew, which looked to be huge, fifteen people maybe. They had various shades of skin, some have normal flesh tones while others were pastel hued and covered in tattoos. Now I knew what felt off, as a cameraman approached us. The film crews, we had never heard anything about them. But they seemed to have expected us to be here.

"What in the hell is all this!" Gale asked annoyed as the cameraman seemed to be filming us.

"Relax Hawthorne." Haymitch grumbled as he a walked up to us. "Don't make yourself look like an ass. Smile everyone. Apparently Effie thought that you guys were all worthy of being highlighted in the advertisement. Being genetically diverse, young, attractive and all that shit. "

"Did you know about this?" Katniss asked Haymitch and looked around at the crew uneasily. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I knew that there might a camera or two, but nothing this big." Haymitch said lowly. "The Capitol people want to use this as an advertising tool for their genetic diversity campaign. Just smile and play along. Don't hold this against Finnick and Annie. They've probably been told that they have to do this."

We all heard the clicking of Effie's heels coming our way, the Odairs followed. "Oh, how exciting!" Effie gushed, while wearing her constant smile. "Annie and Finnick Odair this is Katniss Everdeen and her betrothed Peeta Mellark." Finnick and I shook hands, while the girls greeted each other. His grip was firm as was mine. He looked me in the eye and seemed to be sizing me up. I smiled my most winning smile, he did the same.

"Quite a grip you got there kid. What's your trade?" Finnick asked me.

"I'm a baker." I replied pleasantly.

"Huh, kind of a big guy to be playing patty cake. Aren't you?" Finnick questioned me.

"What can I say? Women love a man who is good with his hands." I said with a grin.

"Speaking of ladies." Finnick's attention turned to Katniss and he examined her. I didn't like it when he dropped my hand to take hers. His tone turned seductive when he addressed her. "Hello, grey eyes, lovely to meet you. How did a baker manage to win a pretty girl like you?"

"Peeta has got the best buns in town." Katniss said plainly, with a straight face. His charm had not affected her. "I can't resist them."

I was little taken aback by her comment but was very proud of it too. Greasy Sae must have rubbed off on her. Finnick's eyes open wide. Clearly he had not been expected that sort of retort or lack of response to his charm.

I took the opportunity to try to charm his woman. "Mrs. Odair, how wonderful to meet you!" I took her hand and instead of shaking it, I kissed her hand. I wanted to show him that he's not the only charmer here.

Annie blushed, smiled at me and shyly said. "Thank you. Nice to meet you too, Peeta."

Finnick gave me a sideways glance, and an approving smile. 'I think that I'm going to like him' I thought.

"That was so gentlemanly Peeta!" Effie sighed. Then she turned her attention to other couple yet to be introduced. "These are the Hawthornes, Johanna and Dale."

"Gale, actually. It's nice to meet you both." Gale said extending his hand to Annie then Finnick.

Johanna smiled and purred as greeted Finnick. "If I had known four had such lookers I might have transferred there."

Gale rolled his eyes. Finnick seemed to be pleased that his charm and good looks were appreciated by somebody.

Our exchanges were being recorded. We're reminded of that when the portly, fortyish man who seemed to be in charge of the group called out. "Cut, that's enough here. Let's move on to lunch and seeing their new home."

"Plutarch, come meet the locals. These are the couples that I was telling you about." Effie called to him. We were all introduced. The man's name was Plutarch Heavensbee.

"Yes they'll work out. Are these really some of the best looking couples here? I was hoping that the girls would be a little prettier, but they'll do. Maybe if the little one would smile it would improve her. Is there no make up here? A little mascara and blush go a long way." Plutarch said in an almost bored way.

Of course this only made Katniss scowl even more. I gave her hand a squeeze. When she looked at me I gave her smile as if to demonstrate how it's done. She gave me her fake smile in return.

"No Plutarch. It is not considered a necessity, so hardly anyone wears it. Can you imagine?" Effie told him in a serious tone.

If we hadn't already been introduced to Effie's manner of talking about us if we were small children or simpletons we would've be offended.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating lunch and showing the Odairs around town. We were not really free to speak as we normally would do to the cameras following us. Finnick was entertaining, telling us stories of his childhood on the sea. Annie was shy and reserved; she would only speak when spoken to. They were very affectionate and loving towards each other, holding hands constantly.

At times Annie seemed to get easily upset, like when Effie asked about her family. Annie nervously shook and rocked her body. Finnick shook his head and gave us a 'don't ask' look. He wrapped her in a hug and he whispered in her ear and she instantly calmed down.

Finally we left the couple to settle into their new apartment which is just a few doors down from mine. The camera crew was leaving the same day but would be back in the future to check in on the Odairs. Plutarch mentioned interviewing the rest of us too. We were told not to refuse by Haymitch, so we didn't. None of us were happy about it though.

Katniss and I walked hand in hand back to my apartment. We walked in silence for a while. I was thinking about the meeting, just going was treasonous. Was I ready to risk everything?

"I wonder what happened to her." Katniss said quietly.

She had awakened me from my trance. I didn't really hear her. "Who?"

"Annie, she seems so…Lost." Katniss replied.

"Yeah, I've heard that district 4 has had a really rough past few years. Maybe that's why they left. I couldn't see why else they would leave the seaside for here." I said. I heard the love for their home in Annie and Finnick's voices when they spoke of district 4.

"Peeta," Katniss said softly, then paused. "I've been thinking about my dad a lot lately. I can remember things that he used to say when I was very young. He hated the government and thought that they used us all against one another too. As I got older I would repeat what he would say. Mom made him stop talking like that in front of me. He told me once that freedom was possible but would come at a price."

"So what are you saying?" I asked gently and stop us, looking her in her grey eyes.

"Peeta I think that we should fight." She told me sincerely. "I don't want our children to have to worry about having to get betrothed at thirteen, just to ensure that they'll be able to make a living. Or have to risk a whipping just to have food. I want them to be free to live however they want to. Not to have their lives dictated to them by people thousands of miles away. I never used to think about these things, I was too busy just trying to survive. But now with you, I think about a future. I don't want to just survive anymore I want to live. We can't really do that the way things are now."

After this speech, which had totally caught me off guard, I hugged Katniss tight and I told her about the meeting. She agreed that we should go.

/

So here we are waiting for this secret meeting to start, Gale and Johanna arrived before us. There are about twenty people here, looks like mostly miners, I recognize a couple of merchants but that's it. Katniss and I appear to be the youngest ones here.

We were told to stagger our arrivals, and we are among the last to arrive. Joining the chattering group gathered in a corner of the vast warehouse. Finnick, Gale, Johanna, Katniss and I all stand together.

"Where's Annie?" Gale asks Finnick.

"She can't talk about this stuff. It brings back too many memories." Finnick says sadly.

I hear a familiar, gruff voice call out to the small crowd. "Alright everybody shut your mouth and listen up." Haymitch calls to the crowd, which drops all conversation and waits for him to proceed. "Okay that's better. Some of you here go way back to our last attempt at revolution. Which I'm sure you remember, was not successful. But these kids here don't know this story so hang with me while I enlighten them." Haymitch motioned to us.

"See kids about ten years ago, a group of us got fed up with our lot in life and we gather up a strong rebellion movement. It took us three years but we had gotten a hold of weapons, ammo, and other supplies from the underground survivors of district thirteen."

Katniss and I exchange confused looks. District thirteen is gone, isn't it?

"Yeah, I said thirteen." Haymitch announced addressing our looks of shock. "The survivors went underground. They struck a compromise with the Capitol. If they hid and kept to themselves, they would be left alone. But they want to help us now, they're tired of hiding."

I look to Gale, Finnick and Johanna. They don't look surprised. They must have known this already, I wish someone would have told us.

"We were really close to being able to overtake the Peacekeepers and we had connections to other districts that were also close to rebellion. The plan was to all cause problems at the same time. But our plans failed when some of our highest ranking rebels died mysteriously. First was my wife, Maysilee, the death report said that it was a heart attack. She was thirty-five, and pregnant, there was a needle mark on her arm. I took this to be a warning but we pushed forward, we were not to be deterred. A few months later, a pair of our leaders, the men who hid our supplies, died in a 'tragic' mining accident. When they died the location of the hidden supplies was lost. Only they knew where it was. The way it went was that no one knew all of the details of the plans. That way if one of us was captured then we couldn't spill any useful intelligence. "

I feel my hand being dropped. Katniss' mouth opens she must understand something that I don't. She turns to Gale and shakes her head and asks. "Gale…Our fathers?"

He nods and opens his arms to her. She falls into them and silent tears steak her face. I could be offended that she did not turn to me for comfort first, but I understand that they have a bond that runs deep. It was forged by years of struggling together. They helped keep each other's families alive and now they know why. Because their fathers died trying to give them a better life.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, for not telling you sooner." Haymitch says directly to Katniss. "You were so young and you were working so hard to support your family. I couldn't put this on you too. But now we need you and the boy to help us."

"Us, why us?" I find myself asking without really knowing what I'm saying. Katniss is released by Gale and she puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Because, people like the both of you." Haymitch says sincerely. "You two stood up and bucked the system with your engagement. Everybody was touched by your show at the whipping post. The merchants saw that the Seam people were worth compassion. And the miners saw that maybe the merchants weren't so bad after all. People want to stand behind you. You gave them hope."

"So why rebel now?" Someone shouted from the crowd.

"Because as we speak, every district, except for two of them, are also rebelling." Finnick says loudly. "I can tell you from experience. My wife and I were sent here because we are suspected rebels, since both of our families had been convicted of it. Mine just disappeared. Annie watched her parents be killed by Peacekeepers, she's never been the same since. They didn't have enough proof to convict us though. So we were drafted into the genetic diversity program and sent to a 'safe' district, where we couldn't cause trouble. We were sent here because the Capitol thinks that you are no threat, that you're weak. Only you and district 2 have not openly rebelled. But what they don't know is that here is where the rebellion is being run from. Not so far outside of your fence a group rebels from other districts are assembling, waiting to strike."

"What are they waiting for?" Another voice calls out.

"We have a plan to strike during the Undersee wedding." Haymitch enlightens us. "The Capitol wants to use it as a propaganda tool. They want to reassure the Capitol citizens that all is well. That's why were being well fed for the time being. As soon as the wedding is over the shortages will be worse than ever. They need us to look happy. Snow is dying and with chaos in the Capitol, now is the time to strike. We have Capitol people on our side too. There has been a movement there too, challenging the current system."

The crowd starts talk amongst themselves.

"If you think that things are bad now you just wait." Johanna yells above the other voices. "I've seen it! My mom was whipped to death for speaking against the government. My brother and dad were killed for fighting with a Peacekeeper, who they caught trying to rape me. That's a common occurrence were I'm from. It could be here to if the next head Peacekeeper allows it. Cray's twenty years are almost up. What will you get next? Cray at least pays his girls and gives them a choice. " Tears flow freely as she spoke, Gale grasps her shoulders.

My head is spinning with all of this information; it's so much to take in. I knew that Johanna's family had died but I didn't know how. I thought that there was something off about the Odairs arrival here. Madge's wedding being used by both sides to serve a purpose. Most shocking was learning that Katniss' and Gale's fathers and Haymitch's involvement in a failed rebellion.

I hold Katniss close, I can tell all of this has had the same effect on her. So many things that we thought we knew and understood were different now. Looking Katniss in the eyes I could tell that something in her has changed. Her resolve has been strengthened by all of this information. Seeing this in her, makes mine stronger too. We were sure that fighting was right before but now we're totally convinced.

"I'm up for it if you are." Katniss whispers in my ear.

I nod and reply softly. "I am, for us and our future."

Our fate as rebels has been sealed. Now we just have to wait and see what it brings, together.


	14. Chapter 14

Katniss

I wake up, I can hear the birds singing and the sun is up. Thinking that I'm really late I jump from my bed. Suddenly I remember that I had given myself the day off from hunting. It's my eighteenth birthday. I thought that with all that is happening right now with the rebellion, the return of the film crew, and upcoming marriages, that I deserve an easy day. I'm just going to school and spending time with Peeta. Later we're having dinner at the at my future in-laws home, shockingly at Mrs. Mellark's insistence.

Mrs. Ebla Mellark has totally surprised everyone and actually stopped drinking. The night of Peeta's whipping Hank had sent her out of the apartment. She went home and drank herself into oblivion. The next morning she woke up and remembered what had happened. She realized what her part in the whole thing had been and how she was alone and isolated. Elba dumped all of her alcohol and hadn't taken a drink since. Hank is so impressed with her recovery that he has moved back into their house. Peeta has spoken to her recently and thought that she was sincere in wanting to make up with him and me. I was reluctant, but then my mom told me that she had provided Elba with herbs and medicine that helped her with the withdrawal symptoms. Elba must have been serious if she came to my mom.

"Happy eighteenth birthday Katniss!" My mom and Prim call out in unison. They each reach out to hug and kiss me.

"There's a surprise for you out in the kitchen!" Prim says happily. Then she hands me my hunting boots after Mom leaves the room. "Get your clothes on and come see."

I quickly dress into my school clothes and braid my hair, I have no clue what my surprise could be. As happy as Prim was, it was probably something I would think silly like the year she got me a pink ribbon for my hair and had tied around Buttercup's neck to present it to me. I would have loved to have hung that cat with that ribbon.

Much to my pleasant surprise Peeta is in my kitchen with a basket of muffins and his huge boyish smile. "Happy birthday!" He greets me with a hug and chaste kiss since, since my mom is standing right next to us. Next he hands me a small rectangular package, wrapped in colorful paper. I carefully unwrap it and find a double sided picture frame with a hand drawn picture of my mom on one side and Prim on the other.

I throw my arms around Peeta. "It's beautiful, thank you."

Mom and Prim examine the pictures and praise Peeta's talent.

"Katniss," Mom stands before me with a small box in hand. "I've got a gift for you. It's from your father's side. He insisted that no matter what you have it someday. I was never to pawn it. I had to hide it so you wouldn't find it." She opens the box on a small, circular, delicate, golden pin; inside the circle was a bird, a mockingjay.

My breath catches, mockingjays were my father's most beloved birds. They would sing his songs back to him in the woods, it was our favorite game. A tear falls down my cheek and I embrace my mom. For a moment I forget about her leaving us and the years of difficulties between us. Mom pulls back and secures the pin on my shirt.

We eat the muffins and drink tea for breakfast then Mom reminds us that we're going to be late for school. Rory, Vick and Posey wait outside to walk with us to school. We go outside to meet them. Peeta grabs my hand and then waves to Prim. "Remember not a word to your mom. We'll see you tonight. Seven o'clock sharp!"

Prim nods and smiles knowingly and waves. "Have a happy birthday Katniss, I'll pick up you guys' homework."

"What are you talking about?" I ask confused, as Peeta picks up a sack and slings it over his shoulder and leads me the opposite direction of school.

"Oh, we're skipping school today! We've both got bad cases of a fake belly ache." Peeta says brightly. "Where do you want to go? We've got all day."

"Peeta, we've already missed so much school!" I remind him, not that I want to go to school.

He just gives me his puppy dog look pleading with me to not make us go. I can't resist those big blue eyes, or that mock pout.

"Okay," I give in, not like it was hard. I know exactly where I want to go. The lake house that my father used to take me to, I've never taken anyone there before. I want to take Peeta there now. "Are you up for a long hike?"

"I wore my boots." Peeta tells me lifting a foot for me to see. "I had a feeling that you would want to go to the woods. I brought a picnic lunch, complete with cheese buns."

We walk together, mostly in silence. We have an unspoken agreement, no talking about the rebellion, today is all about us. Everyone has asked Gale and me where our dads might have hidden the supplies and weapons. Neither one of us has a clue.

Finnick has been teaching us fighting skills and telling us about how his home district had nearly over thrown the Capitol. He and Annie were suspected by Peacekeepers while trying to help his Great Aunt Mags, a rebellion leader escape her prison cell. Mags got out but Finnick and Annie were arrested. Finnick used his charm much like Peeta did get the authorities to go easy on them.

Peeta's silver tongue has been busy, trying to win over support. He has been on a mission to recruit as many merchants as he could. They have been more reluctant than the miners, because they have more to lose. Graham, Rhyes, and a handful of others were immediately on board, more are on the fence. The shortages have finally got them scared and willing to fight.

We each grab a bow and quiver and shoot game as we come across it. Our archery in the woods has become more than a game now; it's training for a possible conflict. Peeta hits a rabbit in the neck. I pat him on the back, it is his first rabbit.

"It's not the eye, but that's still excellent." I tell him with a coy smile. "You'll get an extra special reward for that, when we get to the lake house."

He smiles at me with a mischievous grin.

Peeta asked me a few weeks ago what I really wanted for my birthday. I told him that all I wanted was to be his wife, that I was ready to do 'everything'. He laughed me off, thinking that I was kidding. But I wasn't. As we walk I decide that I'm going to do my best to seduce my fiancé, tell him that it's all I want today. This decision has been made by a combination of factors.

It takes us two hours to make the trek to the lake.

"Wow, I never thought that anything like this existed so close to us." Peeta says in amazement when we finally get within sight of the lake.

I take him into the small concrete building. Peeta quickly makes a fire in the hearth. We stick the rabbit in an old dutch oven with wild onions and katniss tubers, to slowly cook. The blanket that Peeta brought with him is placed on the floor.

I show him how to steal eggs from the duck and goose nests. We laugh when Peeta gets pinched by a goose, they're notoriously mean. We set out lines to fish, Peeta asks all about the lake as we wait for a bite, setting side by side, our bodies touching.

"Have you ever brought anybody else out here before? Prim or Gale?" He asks innocently, catching my eye.

"No," I tell him gently and stare back into his eyes. "I didn't want to share this with anybody but you. This place is special to me. I want it to be special to you too." I then kiss him sweetly, lips just barely parted. Now is the time I decide. "Peeta?"

"Yes, sweetheart?" He smiles into my lips.

"Toast with me…Today…Right now." I plead with him softly, and cup his face with my hands, I stare into his eyes.

"What?" He asks quietly, he must finally believe that my request is serious.

"Please make love to me. It's all I want today." I implore him with a brief kiss. "I want to be one with you, your wife. Please." I tell him in a steady tone, never breaking eye contact. Then I kiss him again more deeply than the last. My body moves instinctively and I crawl into his lap, legs wrap around his waist and my hand tangle into his hair. I can tell that he is having an internal battle with his conscience, by the stiffness of his kiss. His sense of goodness is far too strong at times.

I decide to lay out my case; I break the kiss to speak softly. "The future is unknown, our fate is unclear. We may only have the next few hours together or the next fifty years. I want to spend every moment of the rest of my life proving my love for you, Peeta Mellark, no matter how long or short."

He looks at me as if he still can't believe it. "What about signing the paperwork at the Justice building? Your mom wants us to wait at least another month."

I look at him lovingly and I tell him. "What does a piece of paper have to do with our bond with one another? Our bond was formed over a long period, made stronger overtime. It was solidified at the whipping post. Like you said the pearl and scars is how we let everyone knows we belong to each other. If you really want to appease my mom then we will sign the paperwork and have a toasting party later when I'm allowed to move in. But that is all superficial to me. I want to be joined with you now, today. Peeta please I'm begging you, marry me."

His resolve melts before my eyes; he nods his head and says with a smile. "Okay, Katniss Everdeen I will marry you today." He kisses me and wraps his arms around me and lifts me up, with my legs still wrapped around his waist. Peeta carries me to the lake house and lowers me to the blanket on the floor, his body hovering over mine.

We kiss deeply; our tongues explore each other's mouths for a long while. I want to savor this feeling. We're only going to have one first time. I finally break the kiss to nibble and suck on Peeta's ear the ways I know he likes. He groans, I know the effect that I'm having on him, I can feel his arousal.

"W-wait I just remembered. We don't have anything here." He stutters. "I've got a whole big box back at the apartment. I know how you feel about having kids right away…You want at least a couple of years right? I don't trust myself to pull out in time."

I give him a confused look. Suddenly it dawns on me, condoms. But I had already thought that through but I would have to get him to agree. "Well I've already thought about that. My mom has me taking some herbs that are supposed to keep me from getting pregnant." I hesitate and blush, trying to carefully choose my words. "The first time, I don't want anything between us, I want to feel you. I figure if 'it' happens after just once then it's meant to be. We'll use them every time after today, until we're ready for a baby. Please I want this now." I whisper the last sentence in his ear.

"How effective are the herbs?" Peeta asks curiously.

"Well our parents got married about the same time. Yours had three kids before mine had one."

Peeta licks his lips and nods in agreement and says. "In that case then I'll do it. But only if we do it right." He reaches over to the sack that he brought along, reaches in and pulls out a cheese bun.

I smile and release him from my embrace then make my way over to the hearth, hand in hand. He splits the bun in two and hands me one half. Peeta spears his bun with an arrow from his quiver, then hands me one to do the same with mine.

We set on our knees in front of the fire, face to face, and we both raise our arrows over the flames. The buns brown quickly and we pull them out.

"I Peeta, take you, Katniss to be my wife." He says softly, I can hear the love in his voice. He pulls the bun off the arrow and feeds it to me. I take a bite, carefully chew and swallow.

"I Katniss, take you, Peeta to be my husband." I say carefully, trying to express my love for him. Then I feed him his bun, his lips grazing my fingertips sending a thrill down my spine. As soon as I see him swallow it, I launch myself at him and kiss him passionately.

"I guess that's it, we're married." Peeta says happily when we finally pause to take a breath. Laughing we begin to kiss again. Still on our knees, I tug on his shirt which Peeta lets me remove. My hands explore his chest, as they trail down to the waist band of his pants.

"Oh no," He smiles as he teases me. "Ladies first." My shirt is quickly removed by Peeta and then he fumbles for a moment with the hooks on my bra. My jeans come off next along with my underwear. I am left with nothing on except for my necklace. Peeta leans back to admire the view.

I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks. My instinct is to cover up but I resist and instead place my hands on my hips. "Are you going to enjoy your wife or are you going to stare all day?" I ask Peeta.

"You can't blame a man for admiring his beautiful wife, now can you?" Peeta teases me, with the most gorgeous smile on his face.

He gently reaches out a hand to touch my cheek then allows it to trail down my neck then to my breast. The other hand grasps my hip then wanders to my ass and finally finds my aching wetness, while his lips find mine. We kiss and I moan loudly as his fingers work their magic.

I find his hardness straining inside his pants and I cup it. It becomes harder as I stroke it; Peeta's moans urge me to free it. I unbutton his pants, give them a firm tug, and Peeta aides me by standing, pulling them off quickly. I grasp his fully erect member rubbing my hand down its length. "Fuck, Katniss it feels so good." He says in a raspy low voice, and pauses to enjoy himself.

"Peeta you can be as loud as you want, no one is out here but us." I tell him. The fact is, I love that that I can make him swear and moan while we're intimate. Taking him in my mouth, I hum while I lick and suck.

He responds by moaning loudly and after a few moments he steps back. "I want to save it for later." Peeta says hoarsely then rejoins me on his knees on the floor.

His hand catches my breast and rolls the nipple firmly between his thumb and finger. I let out a sigh, it feels so good. I lay on my back to allow him better access, and pull him atop of me. He parts my legs with his hand spreading wide, so he could settle there. I pull him as close to me as possible. Reaching my hand between us, I grasp him and rub his tip against my needy bundle of nerves. We're both breathing heavily; I'm moaning his name loudly. The amazement on his face is obvious as he watches me bring myself near climax with his member.

"Peeta make me come!" I firmly implore him and then seductively add. "It feels so much better when you do it."

He responds by kissing a trail down my body stopping briefly to take each nipple into his mouth, before continuing his downward path. I am rewarded by the warmth of his mouth on my most private place. My peak is released as his tongue swirls and explores me. Tasting myself on his lips when he returns to kiss me, it is intoxicating. "You taste sooo good." He tells me, with a smile.

"Peeta, I'm ready." I whisper and deeply kiss him.

He responds, without breaking the kiss, by easing his weight on me, supporting himself by arm and guiding himself in slowly. The feeling is totally foreign, and slightly painfully, I wince.

"Are you alright?" Peeta asks his face full of concern.

"Yeah, just give me a moment to adjust. Just go slow at first." I say, trying to sound reassuring. He nods and I feel his hips rock gently. Peeta kisses my forehead and cheeks. Finally I feel myself stretch as he moves within me, and discomfort melts into pleasure. I cling to his body by snaking my arms under his, anchoring my hands onto his shoulders and my legs wrap around his. He must take my cue and starts to thrust faster, we find our rhythm. We each moan as the tension builds.

"This feels so better than I ever imagined." Peeta says his voice is barely a whisper.

I feel my orgasm reach its breaking point. "Peeta! I'm coming." I moan in his ear as my walls contract around his cock.

"Me too." He breathes and raises himself slightly so we're face to face. I watch as his face contorts while his thrusts become faster and deeper. Peeta tenses up, than with one finale moan, I feel the throbbing of his cock and a gush of warmth within me. The moment is perfect as he relaxes and rests his forehead on mine. We catch our breath and look into each others' eyes.

I kiss his lips sweetly and tell him honestly with a smile. "That was the best birthday gift that I've ever gotten."

"I'd rather think of it as a toasting gift." He reminds me. Then suddenly he smiles wide and has a look of wonder in his eyes. "You're my wife now." Peeta kisses me repeatedly and laughs, I laugh with him. "Katniss Everdeen is my wife!"

"No," I tell him firmly. He looks at me confused. "My name is Katniss Mellark now."

"Katniss Mellark ,that's got a nice ring to it."

"Yes it does." I agree.

We finally pull apart and put our clothes back on. Our meal is eaten on the lake's edges. Afterwards we snuggle and then I notice a pair of mockingjays in the trees above us.

"Do you have any song requests?" I ask Peeta, I know he'll like what I'm about to show him.

"Hmmm, I remember the song your dad used to sing when I was a little boy. I think it was called The Swinging Tree, I think."

I know what song he was talking about. It was taboo in my house after my dad sang it to Prim and I, while he made us rope necklaces to wear. My mom promptly took them off of us and forbade the song. I remember this clearly because it was the only time I saw my mom furiously mad. I was seven at the time. "The Hanging tree." I say quietly.

"Yeah, that's it!" Peeta smiles.

As I start to sing, I'm surprised that I can recall it so clearly.

"Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where they strung up a man they say murdered three. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where the dead man called out for his love to flee. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where I told you to run so we'd both be free. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you Coming to the tree Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."

I finish the song, and the mockingjays take my offering and repeat it. The birds repeat it slavishly, word for word. The eeriness of the song hits me, unlike when I heard it as a child. A memory hits me for the first time in years. I recall the last time my father sang this song. It was here, at the lake house.

On a cold February Sunday Dad brought me out here, which struck me as odd. We never ventured this far in the winter months. Dad sang this song and carved a mockingjay's image into the bark of large old oak tree with stones at the base.

"Remember this, my little mockingjay, someday it may help you to be free." Dad told me somberly, but with a strange smile on his face. He was dead two weeks later. I had totally forgotten is episode, it meant nothing when I was eleven. Although at eighteen, knowing about the rebellion and with the man I love at my side, it all made sense. He showed me where he had hidden the weapons and supplies.

I raise Peeta's hand still in mine. "I know where they're hidden." I whisper more to myself than to Peeta.

"Katniss what are you talking about?" Peeta asks me, he has no clue what I'm talking about.

"The weapons that my and Gale's dads hid, they're out here, close by." I tell Peeta frantically. "Look for an oak tree with stones at the roots."

Peeta and I look around the cabin sight. I spot the tree about ten yards away. Approaching it I can see the mockingjay image, faded with time but still visible.

I fall upon my knees and start picking at the stones. "Peeta help me!" I plead, this has suddenly become urgent. My father had reached through time and space and had given me a message. This treasure has been hidden for seven years; it could not wait a moment longer to be found.

Peeta picks several stones up at a time with his large strong hands. When the majority of the stones are gone I notice that the ground is cold. I tap it and I know that it's a metal plate concealing a chamber underneath. Peeta clears away the debris and finds a handle. He looks are me questioning if he should open it. I nod and place my hand on his, together we pull. The door creaks open. A ladder leads down into a deep chamber lies under the ground.

Peeta looks me in the eyes and places his hands on my shoulders and tells me. "You should go first he meant for you to be the first to see it. I'll hold the ladder."

I descend rung by rung, down fifteen feet. In the dim light from the door, I can see wide concrete room filled with boxes upon boxes. This must have been a basement ages ago. Peeta climbs down to join me. Together we inspect the boxes, we find freeze dried food, guns, ammo, medical supplies and other goods all needed for war.

After we inspect all the boxes that we could reach, Peeta hugs me and says sincerely. "It looks like your dad found a way to give you a birthday gift."

"I prefer to think of it as a toasting gift." I tell him and smile while squeezing him tightly.

"Maybe it's both. Perhaps it's the start of our future." Peeta reassures me.

'Either way it seals our fate' I think.

I kiss Peeta tenderly and cling to him as tears fill my eyes. I hush Peeta's concerns; I tell him that my tears are those of joy. Peeta is my friend, lover, confidant, protector and now my husband. Here in this place I can't help but to feel like my father has, in a way placed me in Peeta's hands today. Dad still found a way to give his daughter away on her wedding day.

I am truly Peeta's bride today.


	15. Chapter 15

Peeta

My (unofficial) wife looks beautiful in her rented white dress. It is nothing fancy, just a tea length dress with capped sleeves. Her accessories are her mockingjay pin and my pearl. She has left her hair down and curled it, because she knows I like it best that way. Effie even convinced her to wear a little make up, Plutarch was right a little mascara and blush goes a long way. It does make Katniss look different, not better not worse just different. I am in my best, wearing my well broken in dress coat and black dress pants with a white shirt and a blue tie. I would have bought a new suit, but I don't think that the tailor wants to see me.

My head is still buzzing from my surprise bachelor party. It was a total surprise, believe me. My brothers came to drag me away as while I was supposed to be closing up the bakery. Instead they found Katniss and me in a compromising position in the stock room. At least they found us before all of our clothes were off, only I was caught with my pants down, literally. Thankfully, Graham and Rhyes had the tact to wait to harass me until Katniss left, red faced, excusing herself to go home and pack her things.

It was a small party and along with my brothers Gale and Finnick were there. Graham closed the restaurant early for the occasion and we sat around a table , where we drank beer, smoked cigars and played cards. Finnick brought a bottle of spiced rum which none of us from District 12 had ever had before. It was awful on its own but was very tasty with soda. We bullshitted, played drinking games (which were designed for me to lose), and made toasts. The toasts got progressively stupider as more alcohol flowed. Some of the things we toasted were: marital bliss, effective condoms, knowing when to shut up and always telling your wife that she's pretty no matter what.

Gale raised a glass and said. "Good luck to you, you've got a hard nut to crack tomorrow night."

Rhyes who was already drunker than I'd ever seen him giggled like a little girl and said. "I think that nut has already been cracked, we caught her playing with Peeta's earlier."

Gale's jaw dropped. Graham punched Rhyes' arm hard. Finnick just laughed "I think you just shocked the shit out of Hawthorne."

I hope that no one will tease Katniss about it later. She would ever be able to look anyone in the eye never again.

The last thing I remember was Finnick's last toast. "Here's to Peeta's breadsticks and the best buns in town."

I woke up this morning on a table top in the restaurant. Graham made me some black coffee and his famous hangover breakfast. I still feel like shit. But nothing can dampen my mood today.

Katniss and I will make it official today. We finished school last week and Katniss told her mom that she was not going to wait any longer and that we'd had already toasted in the woods. Lily was a little upset, to say the least. She wanted more time to plan a toasting party, although she did give us her blessing. I was embarrassed that my mother-in-law knew what I did to her daughter in the woods.

We're walking to the Justice building to sign our paper work and to make our new address official. Usually this is done by the couple alone, but not us we have 'company'. Plutarch, Effie and the film crew of two are following us. Plutarch said the Capitol audience needed to see what a typical toasting looked like so they could understand how big of a deal Madge's wedding will be for District 12. We tried to refuse, but Haymitch told us that we had to do it.

"You guys have to look compliant, if you're kissing Capitol ass then they won't suspect you of rebellious actions." Haymitch told us sternly.

No two people were as guilty of rebellious actions as Katniss and me. We found the weapons and supplies that Katniss' dad had hidden years ago. Only our closest allies, Haymitch, Finnick, Johanna and Gale know where to find them. We agreed not to tell the others we don't know who we can trust completely and we don't want people to get blamed if we are discovered. Also we've helped to create escape routes by weakening the fence and digging trenches. My brothers don't even know, they are willing to rebel but I don't want them in as deep as I am. Graham has too much to lose with Jemma, Jack and little baby Ginny. Rhyes has Delly and her family to worry about.

Our parents know nothing about our activities, my Dad has spoken of freedom in the past but he is scared of revolution. He has so much to lose, a business and three sons. My mom has just awakened from a fifteen year alcohol induced haze and is in no shape to handle this. Not to mention that Lily would be livid, we don't know if she knew of her husband's involvement in the last attempted rebellion. Katniss and I doubt that she'd support the current one.

We approach the Justice Building, even after Effie's clean up it was still dingy from years of coal dust and neglect. I open the door and let Katniss in before me.

"Smile Katniss dear!" Effie reminds her. Katniss gives Effie her fake smile. "It's your wedding day, be happy. I thought that you actually like him."

"I'm so glad that we already toasted and that they couldn't ruin that for us." Katniss whispers in my ear as we wait for the film crew to set up so they could tape us signing the forms.

"I promise that I'll make it all better later, we're going to make up for lost time." I whisper back seductively in her ear while pulling her close. Katniss just smiles a real smile and blushes slightly.

It was so sad to watch my bride wave to me from her front porch of her Seam house the night of her birthday. I wanted nothing more than to pick her up and carry her home, our home, where we could make love for hours and fall asleep together. But not tonight, tonight she'll be all mine from here on out.

We hadn't been able to be alone together much since our unofficial toasting. There were final exams to take, work to be done at the bakery and our apartment and rebellion meetings to attend. Our few couplings had been hurried and have left us wanting more and not totally satisfied. I can't help but to hope that Katniss will let us make love tonight like we did at the lake house. Without a condom, it felt so much better, more connected. But I don't think that it will happen she was a little freaked out when her monthly was a day late a couple of weeks ago, her faith in herbs has been shaken. I was slightly afraid too, but it would not have been the end of the world, I really want kids.

"Okay, we're rolling!" Plutarch calls out letting us know to resume our task.

We give the government official our ID numbers and we fill out the forms. After the papers are signed I slip the gold ring on Katniss' finger and I give her a chaste kiss. The ring was a gift from my mom, a peace offering that came along with her apology to us. It had belonged to her parents, who had a happy marriage, and she said the she wanted Katniss to have it.

We are congratulated by the crew and we leave the building. Heading back to the apartment we hold hands, I fight the urge to pull Katniss into the first alley I find and kiss her fiercely. I can't help but to image her pretty white dress on out bedroom floor along with my dress clothes. I must banish these thoughts unless I want all of Panem to see me with a pitched tent.

Plutarch and Effie tell me that I should carry Katniss over the threshold of our apartment, it is some old tradition, they say. I pick Katniss up and carry her up the stairs quickly, hoping to catch a minute or two alone with Katniss. We're giggling like little kids. I open the door and set her down inside the door and lock it behind us. I attack Katniss with kisses and push her against the wall.

"Ahem! You have company and children are present!" I hear Lily Everdeen scold. We both jump, we aren't expecting anybody.

I turn to see my apartment filled with family and friends. Our parents are here along with our siblings and their families, Haymitch, Aunt Rooba, Madge, the Odairs and all of the Hawthornes.

"Why, hello everybody." I say pleasantly trying to save face. Katniss' face is buried in my shoulder.

I hear a knock at the door signaling that the film crew has arrived. "Oh I see that everyone could make it!" Effie says happily. "I put a little party together. Was it a surprise?"

"Apparently!" Johanna calls out. "He just about sealed the deal just inside the door."

"What does that mean Johanna?" Little Posey asks.

"Ask your big brother." Johanna smiles at her, Gale looks nervous. Hazelle looks annoyed.

"I'll tell you later, like when you're thirty." Gale tells Posey, patting her head.

"It's time for the quaint little ceremony." Effie announces. The set up takes longer because the film crew has to get ready.

Our fire place has already been lit. There are toasting sticks on either side of the fire place. Dad hands us a small loaf of soft bread, the type that we make special for toastings. I think I saw a glint of a tear in his eye as he gave me and then Katniss a hug. "I knew this day would come." He whispered in my ear. Lily adjusted her daughter's dress and gave each of us a kiss. My mom even hugged me.

I split the loaf into two halves, trying not to look like we've done this before. We toast the bread and feed it to each other. Finnick loudly calls for a kiss, which I gladly appease. Grabbing Katniss I kiss her, not way that I'd like to but enough to placate the onlookers. Our family and friends make a circle around us and sing us the wedding song.

Graham and Rhyes bring out a cake; it is covered in katniss flowers. "It's not a nice as Peeta would have done but he shouldn't have to make his own wedding cake." Graham announces to the group and slaps me on the shoulder.

We have some luxury refreshments like lemonaide, coffee and champagne, which must have come from Effie. Katniss and I make the rounds visiting our guests, trying to make time for everyone.

First we stop to talk to Gale and Johanna. Gale can't seem to make eye contact with Katniss. I hope she doesn't notice. I ask Johanna. "How are you doing?"

"Stick a fork in me, I'm done!" She sighs and rubs her huge pregnant belly. "In fact I'm going home and see if I can get laid. Mrs. Everdeen just told me that sex can induce labor. What do you say gorgeous, you up for it?"Johanna bats her eyes at Gale.

"Yeah sure, might as well do it now, it may be awhile before I can get it again." Gale answers lightly. He is getting better being teased by Johanna.

We visit with Madge, who seems happier than usual. "I'm looking forward to my wedding. Peeta, did I ever tell you that Tiberius started calling me after I sent him your painting? He loved it. He sounds so nice over the phone."

"No, I hadn't heard that." I say. I can't help to feel guilty when I speak to her now, Katniss feels the same way. Her wedding is less than a month away and as far as we know she has no clue that it is going to be used to wage rebellion. What side her fiancé is on is unknown. We've been invited to the wedding, Katniss is supposed to be a bridesmaid or something like that, it's some Capitol thing.

"Oh Katniss," Madge continues. "They are sending a pair of stylists to help us with our dresses. Dad didn't want the Baleys to do anything for the wedding. It's all so exciting."

We eat cake and the party starts to wind down after a couple of hours, people start to leave. Hugs and kisses were given to our loved ones. Lily and Prim tearfully kiss Katniss and me before they leave. "Mom I'm just married and living a few blocks away." Katniss tells Lily.

"I know but you're not an Everdeen now, you're a Mellark." Lily says with a bittersweet expression, and then turns to me. "I know you'll take good care of her, Peeta."

Prim throws arms around my neck. "I'm so glad to finally have a brother!"

Everyone leaves except for the ones I want to leave most of all, the Capitol residents. Effie finally does leave after Katniss and I, well mostly me, thank her time and again for the wonderful party.

"Did you guys get everything that you needed?" I ask, hinting to Plutarch, that I'd like them to go.

"No we didn't." Plutarch says. "We want to do interviews."

"Come on, it's our wedding night." Katniss says clearly annoyed.

"Do it sweetheart. The Hawthornes and the Odairs already have." Haymitch tells her firmly before draining the final drops from the champagne bottle. I had forgotten that he was even here. He must have hidden himself from Effie in a closet. She is constantly at his side it seems like.

We are sat on our couch, while we hold hands and Plutarch asks us all sorts of questions about how we met and the circumstances of our betrothal. Katniss lets me do most of the talking. I try to be polite and leave out the unpleasant details. Haymitch calls out. "Cut! Let's do that again this time no bull shit."

"Whats wrong?" Katniss asks, confused.

Haymitch approaches us. "They're on our side, you need to tell them everything, don't dress it up just tell them the way it is. This interview will be seen by the other districts, other rebels we need to let them know that we're on the same page."

"You can trust us." Plutarch tells us. "We want a revolution too; living in the Capitol is not everything that it's cracked up to be. They keep us simple and ignorant like Effie so we can't think for ourselves, making us easier to control. She can tell you about current fashion trends and celebrity romances but not a thing about what goes on in the districts. We get silenced by having our tongues cut out or just disappearing altogether. Castor, tell them about it."

One of the crew speaks up, it was just then I noticed that the two crew member looked a lot alike. "My brother, the camera man Pollox, is an avox. He was arrested and convicted of treasonous speech. They cut out his tongue and made him work terrible jobs until our family could pay off some officials."

The red haired camera man nods his head then opens his mouth to show us. I'm shocked silent. Katniss' eyes went wide and she covered her mouth. We had never spoken to the film crews too much before, we had been told to pretend that they weren't there.

"Okay what do you want to know about?" Katniss asks somberly. I'm surprised that she seems willing.

"Tell us about the whipping." Plutarch states.

Katniss straightens up and takes a deep breath. "After my father died, I took over the chore of feeding my family. I had no other choice but to hunt outside of the fence. I was twelve. So for six years I was illegally feeding my family. I could have been caught at any time but I had to break the law. It was hunting or offering myself at a price, to man such as Head Peacekeeper Cray if I had been older."

This thought of that man's hands on Katniss makes me sick. I can feel Katniss shake slightly. I squeeze her hand to reassure her. Katniss continues. "Everyone knew that I hunted, it was common knowledge all over the district. The only thing that I feared was the inspector. The Peacekeepers let everyone off who was just trying to feed their families. People with full bellies are easier to deal with. But the inspector was different story. I was arrested for carrying contraband, some pelts and a deer skin, the only things that connected me to poaching; everything else had been disposed of. Inspector Green was eager to see me tried and punished, honestly, executed probably. But Peeta saved me…He took the blame. He could have terminated our betrothal and easily gotten a better deal. He saved me."

Katniss looks me in the eyes, hers were shining with tears. I nod, urging her on. "Green wanted us both to have twenty lashes. Peeta told everyone that I was pregnant even though at that point we'd done nothing more than kiss. Cray talked Green into letting Peeta take both of our punishments. I had to watch, as he was whipped and the crowd begged for mercy on his behalf… Peeta thank you." Katniss was really crying now. "I can't say any more…"

"Peeta, why would you take her punishment?" Plutarch asks.

"Because I love her, I have since I was five years old. I just lucked out when her first fiancé got my cousin pregnant. She was the one I dreamed about, the only girl I ever have or will love. I couldn't risk her getting hurt. I couldn't lose her. A scarred up back and a few days of pain was worth it. I would die for her." I look at Katniss as I say these words, they are my vows. Her tears stop and I give her a soft kiss so caught up in my confession that I forgot about the crew.

"Boy," Haymitch calls out. "Show them your back."

Katniss helps me out of my tie and helps to unbutton my shirt. I pull off my shirt and show them the now rough landscape that is my back. The scars are still dark pink.

"This has got to stop. People shouldn't have to fear punishment just so they can take care of their families. It's time we stood up to fight." I say as I button my shirt back up.

We talk for a while longer and finally Plutarch is satisfied and the crew and Haymitch finally prepare to leave.

Haymitch comes over to me and whispers in my ear after Katniss excuses herself from the room. "I had Effie get you guys a little special something from the Capitol. I left them on the bed. Make 'em last I won't be getting any more for you. Damn near impossible to get out here."

"What are you talking about?" I ask and give him a confused look. Haymitch must be drunker than usual. He is typically coherent even at his drunkest.

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" Haymitch huffs. "Condoms…Eighteen is too young to start popping out babies. And pregnancy is going around like the flu. I had Effie send for some really good condoms from the Capitol, doesn't feel like you're wearing anything. They're a lot better than the cheap ones they send out here. I know when I was young that I really hated them. I swear that the government sends those crappy things just so no one will use them and more babies are born."

"Well, thanks Haymitch." I say trying to sound appreciative, thinking that this is the most bizarre conversation that I've ever had in my life. Even the sex talk with my dad was not this awkward. I would rather be having a dirty chat with Greasy Sae. I'm so glad that Katniss is not here to listen to this.

"You're welcome don't tell sweetheart where you got them from. See you later boy." Haymitch slaps me on the shoulder and leaves with the film crew.

"Has everyone finally left?" Katniss asks as she kicks off her shoes. "Sorry I had to wash all that make up off my face. I couldn't take it a moment longer."

"We're alone at last." I tell her as I approach her.

"Good because I want to enjoy my wedding night." Katniss says in a raspy voice before kissing me deeply.

"Don't worry we will." I assure her, whispering in her ear. "I want to make you scream my name and come till you see stars. I want the whole neighborhood to hear you." Katniss' gasps and licks her lips at my bold speech. I think that it's turning her on, so I continue. "We're going to see how many times we can go. Mrs. Mellark, we're going to make love till the sun comes up."

She kisses me then says. "Peeta it's ten o' clock at night, the morning is a long way off."

"Oh, it just might be enough time." I tease then I scoop Katniss up and carry her into the darkened bedroom the same way carried her over the threshold earlier. I notice that there are candles burning throughout the room. There is a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket and two glasses already poured and a bowl of strawberries waiting for us. I give Katniss a curious look.

"Maybe I did more than wash my face." Katniss admits. I must say that I'm impressed; I'm usually the romantic one.

I lay her on our bed. We undress each other. I drop our clothes in a pile on the floor. Katniss' naked body still takes my breath away even though I've seen it several times before. "You're so beautiful." I tell her, as I stand at the bed's edge and she lies bare before me in the candle light. Her hair spread out around her like a halo.

Katniss just smiles and gets on her knees and puts her hands on my shoulders. "So are you." She says shyly and runs her hands down my chest. They travel further down until she finds my hardness and grasps it. She looks me in the eyes before leans in to kiss me. This kiss only fuels my already intense desire for her. The feel of her tongue in my mouth only reminds me of how it feels on other parts of my body. I force myself to calm down and take my time. There is no need to rush.

We make good on our talk and spend the next few hours, exploring each other and reaching new heights. Alternating love making, drinking, eating and talking is how our first full night together is spent, as a married couple.

Our first union is sweet and tender, like our day in the lake house. I hate to confess that Haymitch was right about the Capitol condoms, they were much better. After, we drink some champagne and eat strawberries and cake and talk about nothing in particular; we just like to hear the other one talk.

Our second is more intense than any other we'd ever experienced. Perhaps because it was fuelled by our slight alcohol buzzes. We tease and tempt each other for the longest time, neither ready to give the other their release. Experimenting with different positions Katniss finally straddles my waist and takes total control. Watching and hearing her moan and call my name is nearly enough to set me off, she rides me until we both come. We lie there a while and hold one another, we're both a little in shock at our boldness a few moments before.

Our third is again gentle and thoughtful although short. We're both glowing with sweat, we should shower but we're tired we agree. Finally drifting off to sleep, completely exhausted I hold my wife close. "Good night . Sweet dreams. I love you." I whisper in her ear.

"Good night, my husband." Katniss replies. "You've made me so happy. I love you too."

We both sleep with smiles on our faces.


	16. Chapter 16

Katniss

"Damn, you two smell like sex. Not to mention the 'we just did it' look on you faces. Don't you guys have that worked out of your system yet? I know that's all you too have done this week besides work in the bakery." Haymitch tells Peeta and me. I am too shocked to respond, Peeta must also be. Was it that obvious that we had a little quicky before we set off this morning?

Finnick comes to our defense. "Oh, Haymitch, it's just been a week. Leave them alone."

"Thank you, Finnick." Peeta says, I can tell he wants the subject to drop.

Finnick continues, and we wish he hadn't. "When Annie and I first got married it was month before we came out of house. Not to mention it was another full month before either one of us walked right. I think I threw out my back. We were trying this new position…" Finnick starts to demonstrate by moving his body.

"Too much information, Finnick! Shut up, I don't need that mental image!" I warn him. Everyone chuckles at me and my prudishness.

It's early on a Sunday morning and the sun is just beginning to rise. Haymitch, Finnick, Peeta and I are walking through the woods that surround District 12. Johanna and Gale are absent because they welcomed their brand new baby yesterday, a nine pound, robust, olive skinned, dark haired, little boy, named Hunter Hawthorne. Rooba was nervous about the name but Johanna claimed that it was a family name from her side.

"Well, so much for passing him off as a premature baby." Johanna mused when we visited them last night. Both parents are thrilled. It was strange to see Gale and Johanna with their baby. I could see the love in their eyes for their son and each other. When I saw them with baby Hunter, all of the anger that I felt towards Gale over his betrayal on me was gone forever. We are all with whom we truly belong with; Gale with his wife and baby and me with Peeta. Gale and I are back to be friends and only friends which suits us best.

Haymitch and Finnick seem to know where they're going. I vaguely do also, I was taught by my father to leave this section of the woods alone, I was told that it was the territory of another local hunter. It was just common courtesy to leave another's area alone. But I recently found out that my father intentionally kept me from hunting here because it was predetermined meeting spot for rebels.

We approach an innocent looking group of large boulders under a tight patch of trees. I hear from directly above us a four note whistle, to which Haymitch replies in kind. I look up and see a waif like figure in the canopy above. Apparently no one could see her but me, I catch her eye.

A pair of tall, dark skinned figures, holding rifles emerge from the dim light through the trees. "It's okay Thresh they're friendly." We can hear one tell the other. "Haymitch, you drunken S.O.B! How ya' doing?" The same voice called louder and happily. It came out from the shorter, elder of the two men.

"Good. Chaff, you old bastard, how about you?" Haymitch returns happily. "I'd shake your hand but you've only got one and it looks full."

Chaff lowers his rifle. Letting it hang by a strap at his side. "You asshole, you know that we don't shake hands, we hug!" He embraces Haymitch and the two men laugh. I've never seen Haymitch so friendly.

"Let me introduce you to the kids." Haymitch says. "The pretty boy is Finnick Odair, my apprentice from District 4."

"I've actually already met him in four." Chaff replies. "You're Mag's boy aren't you? I heard that you got banished here."

"Yeah, I'm her grand nephew." Finnick smiles, and then asks eagerly. "Have you heard anything about her lately?"

"Yep, she's as good, as a feisty eighty year old can be." Chaff answers happily. "She and the other rebels from your district have all but one sector of four under control. It shouldn't too much longer before they've got that one too."

"These other two, are Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen." Haymitch continues to introduce us. I clear my throat and glare at him. "Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart. It has only been a week. Excuse me, Chaff, I mean Peeta and Katniss Mellark. That better?"

"Everdeen, as in Fred's kid?" Chaff asks as he shakes our hands. I nod. "I knew your dad. The movement lost a lot when he and Hawthorne were killed."

"Thank you." I say simply. Then I change the subject and look up into the tree, drawling everyone's attention there. "Are going to introduce us to your 'kids'? I'm sure the girl would like to get out of the tree, although she does look at home up there."

"Good eye, honey." Chaff sound impressed. "That's Rue, she's our look out and one of the best medics you will ever find." The girl climbs down and smiles wide and waves at us, she must be about Prim's age. "And this big quiet guy is Thresh. We're all from eleven. Our district is under rebel control so we thought we come over here and help you guys out. Well no more bullshit, we need to get you guys inside for the meeting. Watch this! It's Beetee's newest invention."

Chaff sets his hand on a boulder and a soft light is emitted from it, then it sides over to reveal a stair case that leads down.

"Neat huh? Beetee is a genius. It only lets in rebels; it reads your hand print." Haymitch tells us, Peeta and I just look at each other. This is science fiction stuff to us. The most technological thing that we've ever seen in twelve is our TVs. We've heard about the fancy electronics that they make in District 3 and are part of everyday life in the Capitol and wealthier districts, but they were totally new to us.

We descend the stairs and what we see stuns us, a white large room which looks to be just a part of a wider network of tunnels and rooms.

"The people from thirteen sure know how to make underground look cozy." Finnick says sarcastically, the surrounding area looks cold and sterile. Many people we see are dressed in dull grey uniforms. We learn that they are from district 13. Whereas residents of other districts still dress in their own clothing, there seems to be a definite division between the two groups.

Chaff leads us to a large meeting room already occupied with a few other people. We are introduced to several of them. First we meet a pair of attractive siblings from District 1, Cashmere and Gloss. We get to meet Beetee, and Wiress the technical geniuses from District 3. Seeder a woman also from eleven greets us warmly and tells us. "The meeting will start as soon as Paylor and Boggs get here."

"What no Coin today?" Haymitch asks looking slightly annoyed.

"No apparently you don't rate highly with her." Chaff teased.

After a few moments we are joined by a tired looking, scarred covered woman in her middle thirties who we learn is Paylor, the leader of District 8 and a large man in maybe his early forties, Boggs the second in command of thirteen.

Over the past few weeks we've learned about what has really been going on in the districts in the past year. District 8 was the first to totally over throw the Capitol influence and paid for their freedom dearly. About a fourth of the population was killed by bombs dropped by hover crafts. There would have been many more losses if not for Paylor's leadership skills and battle tactics. Emboldened by eight's victory Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11, all also rebelled to varying degrees of success. Districts 1, 3, and 11 are totally under their own control. All of the other districts are still openly waging war; several are very close to winning.

Only District 2 besides our own, that has not yet rebelled, but they also have a strong underground movement. The Capitol had never expected cooperation between the districts. Snow, who is in his death bed, is helping the effort by refusing to hand his power over to a more capable successor.

"Good morning all." Paylor says in an exhausted but pleasant tone. "Haymitch I see you brought us in some new recruits."

"Yeah these are the Mellarks, Peeta and Katniss." Haymitch motions to us. "They found the missing supplies."

"Yes, I've heard about that, good work. I've also seen some of the propos that Plutarch is working on. Everybody who has seen them is in love with you two." Paylor tells Peeta and me. Then her voice turns more serious. "It's time to get down to business. As many of you know we have a wedding to plan. Or a wedding day attack to plan. We are using this day to set things in motion for many reasons, Peacekeepers will be a mess because of the visiting guests Mayor Brutus of District 2 and his family. Workers, miners and children will be home because it is going to be proclaimed a holiday, people will be easier to evacuate if they are with their families. For security reasons we can't tell you what is going to happen, just know that it's going to be huge."

I look to Peeta and I can see the concern in his eyes. He asks aloud. "Why can't you tell us? Shouldn't we know so we can help to evacuate? We can't be left in the dark and just expected to trust you blindly."

"It's not up to me." Paylor says knowingly. "Ultimately it's not my call. That belongs to someone else." She gives Boggs a sideways glance, and then continues. "This is also the perfect opportunity to help out District 2 as they to start their own rebellion. If we get D 2 on our side the Capitol's weapon's supply will be cut off. Mayor Brutus is a firm Capitol supporter and has an iron grip on the district. He is infamous for his harsh punishment of minor crimes. He makes most Peacekeepers look like tame kittens. District 2 has more executions per year than all of the other districts combined. If we can take him out or at least capture him it will empower the people. Brutus is cruel and so is his eldest son Cato, who is being groomed to be the next mayor. Cato has recently been married, to another avid Capitol supporter, Clove is the daughter of a retired Head Peacekeeper. The mayor's mistress Enobaria, who is also his personal assistant, is also not to be trusted. The mayor's wife Lyme was a different story though. She had rebellious sympathies but has not been heard from in a long time, we presume her to be dead. It is unknown what side the younger son, the groom, Tiberius is on. He was close to his mother but that may mean nothing."

"So the plan is to have all hell breaking loose during the ceremony in the mayor's house? That's all good and well but what about our people on the inside and the Undersees? The mayor has been supportive and has helped us every step of the way. What about their safety?" Haymitch's tone is boardline angery.

"We will do everything we can to get your people out safely, but we can't promise there won't some casualties." Boggs told us evenly. "The escape tunnels are in place, there is one near the mayor's house."

On a holographic display we are shown a network of tunnels under the district, they lead back to here. It was explained to us that the tunnels were going to be used to evacuate the population along with the blowing open the weak spots in the fence.

"How did you guys build the tunnels without anyone noticing?" Peeta asks in wonder.

"The last few feet have yet to be dug." Beetee, the small man with big glasses, tells us. "Entry ways have had to be hidden so no one would be suspicious. The path ways will be safely blown open right after the first phase of the plan. Or at least that's the hope."

"How are you going to keep Peacekeepers out of the tunnels?" Finnick asks.

"There are doors will that shut remotely from here, we have each one monitored." Beetee says proudly, this was obviously one of his ideas.

The meeting lasts for several hours and it is stressed to all of us that if we have a chance to kill Brutus that we must do it. Killing him may lead to a successful end of the rebellion. The Capitol would lose their last faithful district and would more than likely cave to our demands immediately. Because they can't exist without us, their surpluses are already nearly gone and the truth cannot be hidden from its citizens for much longer.

Finally Peeta and I are dismissed; we don't get to sit in on the meeting for the higher ups like Haymitch and Finnick. We're supposed to go for fittings with the stylists. Me for my bridesmaid dress, and Peeta for his chief's coat that he is suppose to wear while presenting the cake.

Wiress, the thin spacey, looking woman from three stops me as we leave. She hands me a bottle of glitter. I look at her confused. I'm not the type to wear glitter, neither is she I'm guessing. "Give this to Cinna and only Cinna. It has information he needs." She says quietly not making direct eye contact.

"Okay." I tell her and take the bottle from her thinking that she might be crazy and not really understanding what she means. Then Peeta and I make our way home hand in hand. We are mostly silent on the long walk home, both of us lost in thought.

"Katniss," Peeta says lowly. "I don't think that I can do it."

"Do what Peeta?" I ask. I had too had been lost in my own thoughts.

"I don't think that I can kill another person." He confesses to me and catches my eye. "Could you?"

"If someone was going to hurt another person, maybe. If they were going to hurt Prim or you I definitely I could." I respond after thinking for a moment.

"Well when you put it that way, I suppose I could in the right circumstance." Peeta admits, lowly. Then he holds me close and kisses my temple. We continue to make our way back to the fence and our home. Our clothes are quickly changed and we head to the mayors house.

We are greeted by a happy Madge, who proudly shows us all the plans for the wedding. It is strange to go to the mayor's home now, knowing what we know. Peeta and I know that we will be present in the mayor's home during the wedding and that we will be most likely being directly in harm's way. Peeta is serving the cake and I'm to be a bridesmaid. We are split up, Peeta with Portia and me with Cinna.

I've already met up with the stylists Portia and Cinna, they are also secretly a part of the Capitol rebel movement. They're by far my favorite Capitol citizens. They are well dressed but not overly flamboyant their makeup is minimal and tasteful they even speak almost normally.

I've been working with Cinna mostly. He is doing the women's dresses I liked him from the first time I met him. But that still doesn't make me like the whole ordeal any better. I have been apprehensive about the whole dress fitting and bridesmaid thing although Madge had reassured me time and again.

"You're the first man besides my husband to see me naked." I tell Cinna nervously as I stand bare before (well, nearly bare I'm allowed to leave my panties on) him in Madge's room. I'm thankful that I'm now in the habit of shaving on a regular basis. Cinna is taking every possible measurement of my body.

"Don't worry this is purely professional, besides my girlfriend is in the next room fitting your husband. I'm the one who should be nervous; he's a good looking guy. His shoulders must be a mile wide." He told me teasingly. "You two don't look a day over fifteen. Why do you get married so young out here anyway? In the Capitol hardly anyone gets married before thirty."

"I'm eighteen, I'll have you know." I reply in a sarcastic tone then follow more seriously. "And we get married young because we die young. I only know of one person in the Seam who is over seventy, Greasy Sae. Even most merchants die by the time they're sixty. We have no doctors, and no hospitals we die of things that people in the Capitol can have treated in an afternoon."

"I like your bluntness." He turns on the radio and the hair dryer and then whispers lowly as he takes my hand. His pretty hazel eyes catch mine. "But we can't talk like that, we think that the house might be bugged…I'm sorry about the way things are, we're on the same side. I want to help you and the others make things better for everyone. Although in order to do that we must make you as charming and convincing as we can."

Nodding in return, I understand, I know that I had a part to play. Suddenly I remember the bottle of glitter. "Oh, I brought you some glitter from Wiress."

"Good, I needed a new bottle from D-3. For some strange reason we can't get these in the Capitol right now, an issue with shipping they say." He tells me like he is ignorant of the rebellion. Cinna must notice my confused look. "Did you know that one tiny piece of glitter and hold hours and hours worth of music. Imagine what other information it can hold."

I take this to mean that it's a way to pass information in between rebels. "Neat. How do you get it to play music?"

Cinna take a single glitter chip out of the bottle and shows me. "It gets activated by body heat. Then all you have to do is just say what playlist you want, for example 'playlist techno punk'." The chip emits thumping strange music. I smile as Cinna adjusts the volume by simply saying up and down.

I decide to ask Cinna something that had been bothering me for a while now. I whisper. "Do you think Madge knows that her wedding is being used to start an uprising?"

"You know her better than I do. Although I think she knows something is up." Cinna then turns off the small appliances and continued the appointment.

Madge when Cinna is done I find Madge entertaining Peeta in the kitchen and cup of tea and goat cheese tart waiting for me. I'm reminded of the day that Peeta painted Madge's portrait, it was our first outing together after our betrothal. I never would have guessed eight months ago that I would be madly in love with Peeta and deeply involved revolution right now.

"Tiberius is coming next week, ahead of his family, so we can get better acquainted. I'm looking forward to meeting him in person. He seems so pleasant over the phone." Madge tells us. I listen to Madge and Peeta talk about the details of the cake for a while.

Portia then calls for Peeta to come and try on his coat.

"So what's it like?" Madge asks me quietly, with a shy smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" I ask in return, hoping that she was not asking about sex. Even though it is a pretty much daily experience for me now, I still don't want to talk about making love to anybody but Peeta.

"You know…" Madge gets a little red as continues. "Does it hurt like all those girls at school say?"

I really don't want to talk about this but then I realize that Madge doesn't really have anybody else to talk to about this. She doesn't have any sisters, or aunts and her mom is not the touchy feely type. So I forget about my discomfort and decide to give girl talk a try. "It feels uncomfortable for the first few minutes, just make sure you…um make out and mess around, you know, kiss and touch for a while before you actually do it."

Madge takes it all in wide eyed. We talk for a little while when Peeta comes hurrying down the stairs with tense look on his face.

"Katniss we have to go." Peeta says trying to cover his true emotions. He smiles to Madge pleasantly. "I'm so sorry Madge, we are dinner at my parents tonight and I totally forgot that I have to bring the bread. We have to get going."

To anybody else Peeta, seems to be earnest, but I know his little tells. The way he pushes his hair back and his forced smile.

We leave after giving Madge a hug and a promise to be back soon. As soon as we are out of ear shot I ask Peeta quietly. "What's wrong?"

Peeta pulls me into the first ally we come a crossed. "The mayor pulled me aside upstairs. While we were gone a hover craft came by, Peacekeepers. There has been a crackdown, the Capitol is getting desperate. They sent some guy by the name of Thread to be the new Head Peacekeeper. It's bad, they've got Cray, and he is being tried, right now. We've got to get home and act innocent. Mayor Undersee and the stylists will cover for us if they have to and say that we were there all day."

I look around and notice people heading to the square, this can't be good. We have to go through the square to get to the bakery. The scene is reminiscent of the day of Peeta's whipping. Cray is the tied to the whipping post and an imposing, wicked looking man is standing next to him announcing his list of charges and infractions. Peeta and I stay at the back of the large crowd. It would look more suspicious if we left right now. We catch the end of Thread's speech. "How do you plead to the charges of dereliction of duty and abuse of power, former Peacekeeper Cray?"

Cray gives him a cold look then does something unexpected, he spits in Thread's face. "Fuck you!" Cray shouts for all to hear. "It's over Thread! The Capitol is imploding." Thread pulls out his pistol and aims it at Cray's head. But Cray doesn't stop. "All but a few of the districts are under their own control now and it won't be long before….."

A shot rings out, the crowd reacts with screams and parents turn their children's heads away as Cray's brains are sprayed all over the platform. "Insubordination will no longer be tolerated!" Thread growls loudly. "Cray was a liar; the Capitol is as much in control now as it has ever been."

Peeta wraps his arm around my shoulder; we stare into each other's eyes, silently agreeing to leave. Then we pull back and leave with some other members of the crowd who like us thought it best to walk away.

As we leave I think of Cray. He may have been a sick bastard who took advantage of poor starving girls, but at least he paid them and helping in the process to feed some of the poorest in the district. He allowed us to hunt and paid handsomely for game. Most importantly he helped Peeta and me when we needed it most. I think now that I never really got a chance to thank him, I can't now. A silent tear falls down my cheek. A realization hits me, this was only the first causality of the District 12 rebellion and there will most likely many more yet to come.


	17. Chapter 17

Peeta

It is the morning of Madge and Tiberius' wedding day. The sun's first rays are just starting to filter through our bedroom window, casting the most gorgeous golden light on my beautiful sleeping wife. We decided that we would sleep in, since the bakery and all other businesses are closed for the district holiday. I wake up early, out of habit, and take advantage of the situation by and I pulling out my sketch book and drawing my wife. It was warm over night so we stayed naked after we made love, her perfect breasts are bare and the bed sheet is draped over her hip, covering only her most private area. Katniss has a ghost of a smile on her face, and her hair is fanned out across the bed.

After about half an hour I have a sketch that I'm happy with and just in time because Katniss starts to stir. She sleepily opens her eyes and smiles as she says. "Good morning, are we sketching this morning?"

"Yes," I reply teasingly. "Since you won't sit still long enough while you're awake for me to do it."

"It's not that I can't sit still, it's that you can't keep your hands off me and we always wind up messing around." She reminds me.

"Sorry, I can't help myself." I say, my voice is low and husky and I crawl onto the bed and hover over my wife on my hands and knees. "In fact I think that I feel that same urge right now."

Katniss giggles a little bit and then leans up to kiss me. I reach over to pull open the night stand to get out a condom. Katniss pulls my hand away and says. "I don't want to use them, not this morning; I don't want anything between us."

We make love slowly and deliberately trying to make it last, we don't break eye contact, savoring every kiss and caress. Neither one of us is saying what's on our minds; that it might be the last time that we do this. I bury myself as deep as I can as we both reach our peek. For one brief moment we're not two separate people, but one perfect being. After our incredible love making we just hold each other tightly. "I wish that I could freeze this moment in time and keep it forever." I whisper in Katniss' ear. She nods in agreement and kisses my lips lovingly.

Finally we detangle our bodies from each other, only to both wind up in the shower and we prepare to go our separate ways. I have to add some finishing details to the wedding cake and Katniss has to go to the mayor's house and get ready for her part as bridesmaid. I kiss her and tell her that I'll see her soon, as she leaves.

I've got a sick feeling in my gut; I don't like her being in that house without me. I don't like how

Cato looks at her. The only thing that comforts me is that Mayor Undersee and Cinna are also there with her and will help to keep her safe. We met Mayor Brutus and his entourage last night at the rehearsal dinner. The whole group was nothing like the reserved and quiet Tiberius whom we met two weeks ago. Although we've seen Tiberius several times I can't get a reading on him, I still don't know what side he is on. The only real conversation that I've had with him was about Madge's portrait that I painted. He praised my work and told me that it made him want to move out here the moment that he saw it.

I could not help to compare and contrast Tiberius to his brother and father. Brutus and Cato both have sandy blond hair, green eyes, are both large and intimidating looking, their height matches that of Gale but they are built much heavier. You can almost see their pride, arrogance and sense of superiority radiating off of them. While Tiberius is closer to my height and is lankier, with brown eyes and hair, he is respectful and well mannered and seems very intelligent.

The women of the group, Enobaria and Clove, seem to be good fits to their respective mates. Enobaria is tall, athletically built and looks more like a citizen of the Capitol, with her fake boobs and puffy lips, than a resident of a mining district. She spent the whole night looking down her nose at the rest of us. Cato's wife Clove is slender and of average height, her dark eyes look cold and calculating, she doesn't strike me as a kind or caring type of person. The only emotion that I saw her on her face last night was fury when Cato was looking Katniss up and down. I spied Clove giving Katniss a seething look, as if it was Katniss' fault that Cato was looking at her.

Brutus' speech at dinner seemed to only illustrate the entire group's arrogance, as many of them shook their heads in agreement. "It's so wonderful for District 12 to be the new home of one of my sons, even if it is just the younger one. I was apprehensive when this betrothal was set up nine years ago. I thought that it was beneath my family. But I was assured by President Snow himself that this arrangement would not lower the status of my own district but raise the status of yours…." He continued on and on.

All of us from District 12 kept our mouths shut out of respect for Mayor Undersee and Madge. Even Effie, who has no great love for our district, seemed to be taken aback by the harsh things that were said against us. I swear I heard her gasp "How rude!" into her dinner napkin after Brutus referred to us all as being 'unfortunate, uneducated, inbred and soot covered'.

We all were given passes signed by the Mayor himself giving us permission to be out past curfew, which I was glad for, because we were stopped twice on our short walk home. Since Thread has taken over as head Peacekeeper rules have been harshly enforced, the stocks have been constantly occupied, the Hob has been shut down and there have been multiple whippings, none like mine but still brutal. Thankfully Darius and the other local Peacekeepers have escaped any extreme punishment for any past infractions, perhaps Thread thought that Cray's execution and a hundred new Peacekeepers were going to be enough to strike fear into the residents.

The tinkling of the bell at the bakery door brings me back to the here and now. Finnick and Haymitch come in and give me a quiet greeting as I finish the last icing flower. They are going to help me transport the cake; the cart that we are using is also going to allow us to bring in weapons, and some other vitals. They're also going to serve as ushers today. Their usually loud and boisterous personalities are somber today, as is mine. We have a mission to complete and we all need to be on the same page.

"Did Katniss leave for the Mayor's house yet?" Haymitch asks after taking a swig from his flask.

"Yeah." I say as I give him a scolding look. "Should you be drinking today?"

"Easy there boy, this is my first sip. I'm not worth a damn stone cold sober; half looped is my optimum functioning level." Haymitch tells me, I know from experience this to be true. "Don't worry. I'll keep myself sober enough to help you."

Finnick slaps me on the shoulder and tries to reassure me. "Don't worry we'll make sure that you and Katniss make it out."

"I don't care so much for me." I admit. "It's Katniss that I'm worried about. And I'm worried about all of the innocent people that are going to be in harm's way. Something about the District 13 people doesn't sit right with me."

Katniss and I had this discussion last night. We found out that if we are successful in overthrowing the current regime that President Coin expects to just walk into office. Now we better understand what the division between the soldiers from thirteen and all of the other districts is. The people from thirteen have not had to deal with the oppression and hardships that the Capitol has forced on us. Now Coin will be our supreme leader with no questions asked? It's not that we're not thankful for all of the help and weapons that District 13 has provided but it seems like we're just trading one overlord for another.

"The people from thirteen are good. It's their president that I don't fully trust." Haymitch confesses. "I want to warn you boys. Coin loves martyrs; she thinks that they create a more loyal following. She is infamous for using people as pawns."

"So what are you telling us Haymitch?" I ask. "Is there something you know that we don't?"

Finnick answers instead. "Coin asked that Gale, Johanna, and Annie all be present at the wedding today too, in the middle of the action. You know everyone who the cameras have been following. We said no, that that wasn't possible. Gale and Johanna are in charge of the evacuation. And Annie is six months pregnant and is no shape to deal with a fight; she got too messed up back home."

"Readymade martyrs." I say when it dawns on me. "So what's the plan?"

"First, I'm not totally sure that Coin is setting us out there on purpose but I don't trust her. We've been given new orders, Coin doesn't want Brutus dead and she wants to use him as a bargaining chip. You don't want to get in the middle of the shit today that you need to stay with the others. Don't let each other out of sight." Haymitch looks Finnick and I up and down. "You, Finnick, Katniss and I will be in the house, we need to get the innocents out. People like Madge, her mom and Effie deserve to get out unharmed, they have no idea that any of this is going down. The film crew, Undersee, Cinna and Portia need to get out too, they're a part of the rebellion but they're not exactly fighters."

We carefully pack the cart with bows and arrows and a bag of clothes for Katniss and me, along with knives for Haymitch and Finnick.

"What no tridents?" Finnick asks disappointedly.

"This is coalminer country pretty boy. The closest you're going to get to a trident is a pitch fork covered in goat or pig shit." Haymitch laughs. "And that's too big to hide under a cake cart."

When the cart is loaded and the cake is in place we make our way to the mayor's house. I breathe a sigh of relief when the Peacekeepers don't search us. We find the house in a state of bustling action. Servants are in the great arranging flowers and decorations to Effie's direction, she has become the unofficial wedding planner. It only made sense she is the only one here who knew what a Capitol style wedding looked like.

"Haymitch you are five minutes late, how are we ever going to stay on schedule? This is big, big, big day for District 12!" Effie calls out.

"She has no clue!" Finnick whispers in my ear. I try not to laugh.

"Whatever am I going to do with you Haymitch?" Effie asks exasperated.

"Maybe you should marry him." Finnick teases and winks at Effie. "You already nag him like he's your husband; he might as well get some of the benefits. He'd be much more cheerful if his balls weren't always blue."

"Well, I never!" Effie gasps and you can tell that she's blushing even through her heavy makeup. "Haymitch, tell your apprentice to be more tactful."

"Okay," Haymitch rolls his eyes. "Pretty boy, shut the fuck up. Happy Effie?"

"Rouges and ruffians. Peeta, I swear that you are the only gentleman in this room." Effie says as she stomps out of the room, leaving me to hold my giggles and Haymitch and Finnick laughing out loud.

Portia comes down after a while to fetch me to put on my clothes. "My coat feels a lot heavier today." I mention as I put on my white chief's jacket, over my sleeveless shirt.

She turns on the radio then whispers in my ear. "Cinna and I thought that you and Katniss needed some extra protection. Your clothes are made with a super strong material that is like armor. Haymitch and Finnick's tuxes are made of the same stuff. We're trying to give you the best odds possible." She smiles and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"Ahem." I heard the clearing of a throat from the door way, I knew that it could only be Katniss. I turn to her with a smile and Portia blushes a little. Katniss calls out in her mocking tone. "Now, now Portia I thought you guys were supposed to be professionals. No falling for your clients."

"I'm sorry Katniss, I just can't resist and he's just so cute and sweet." Portia replies in similar voice then pinches my cheek like my Aunt Rooba would do when I was a kid. I give Katniss my puppy dog face and I can see her melt.

"Well I give you that one, he is awfully cute." Katniss admits with a smile on her face.

"I'll give you two some privacy." Portia says quietly and leaves the room.

I take a moment to admire her, her hair is pulled into a side bun and she has on an apparent yet tasteful amount of makeup on. Finally I notice her dress, it is pale green with pink ribbon and tight and corseted on top, accentuating her curves. The bottom is puffy and is made out of some sort of netted material. She looks as uncomfortable as she can get.

I wrap her in my arms and whisper in her ear. "Are you nervous about the plan?"

"No this dress." Katniss says tugging at her skirt. I have to laugh; only Katniss would be more upset about wearing a pretty dress than being a part of a rebel plot. "This thing is ridiculous! Cinna says its ballerina chic….whatever that means. At least the shoes are comfortable." She lifts her skirt to revel her pink slippers.

"I think you look hot." I tell her honestly.

"Oh stop it." She slaps my shoulder; it's still hard for her to take a compliment.

"Be careful today; don't get out of sight, once the action starts." I whisper and kiss her forehead and she nods.

Then we hear the tell-tale click clacking of Effie's heals. "You two, it's nearly time, Katniss, Plutarch wants you for pictures. And Peeta you should be down in the kitchen, you have your coat and your business is done up here." Effie scolds.

"I'm so very sorry Effie." I lay my charm on thick. "I couldn't resist the chance to see Katniss dressed up in the best that the Capitol has to offer."

"Yes, she does look lovely. Alright I'll let it go, now get out of her." She smiles.

Katniss mouths the words 'kiss ass', then kisses me sweetly. "See you later."

The wedding ceremony will have only a hand full of guests with a larger reception to follow if we get that far. I'm going to be allowed to watch from the back with the servants. Finally it's time for the wedding to start. First Haymitch and Finnick show the few guests to their seats. Clove looks sour, Enobaria looks bored and Brutus has a smug look on his face he is followed close by as always by two Peacekeepers.

Then Tiberius and Cato make their way up to the altar and then step to one side. The music changes then Katniss walks up the isle holding a small bouquet of lilies. She is followed by Madge and her father. Madge looks beautiful; her dress is much like Katniss' only all white and much fuller in the skirt, topped off with a veil. Effie said that usually children are a part of the ceremony but that detail was rejected by Mayor Brutus, he apparently doesn't like children.

As soon as Madge reaches the end of the isle, Mayor Undersee puts her hand in Tiberius'. I keep searching for some sort of sign that Tiberius is a good guy and we don't have to worry about him fighting back. The justice of the peace, a blue haired man brought in special from the Capitol starts to speak. "Dearly beloved-"

He is stopped mid sentence by a loud boom that shakes the whole house, followed by quickly by another. "The mines are burning!" a servant yells. The Peacekeepers are frantically talking into their headsets trying to find out what's going on. Everyone rushes to the window to watch the black smoke billow from the mine shafts, except for Katniss, Haymitch, Finnick and me we fall back to the kitchen. She runs to me and I take her into the kitchen and she rips off her skirt which easily separates from the dress and reveals the pants that she is wearing with the legs rolled up, she leaves her top on, knowing that it has been designed to protect her. I hand her bow and quiver then I pick up mine. We both grab our boots and pull them on, we're ready now.

"Pick off the Peacekeepers first, they're armed. Hold them back so the others can get out." Haymitch tells us, as we dress and more bombs explode in the distance, these are the escape tunnels opening up. Haymitch and Finnick pick up their knives; we choose not to bring guns, none of us are confident enough with them to shoot in a crowded room. A loud siren buzzes, that's evacuation signal and our sign to set our plan in motion. Out the window we can see people heading towards the fences; at least they seem to know to get out. The word had been spread around to be ready to pick up and leave, so hopefully most people were ready. Those of us in the rebellion movement have been quietly leaking information about the other rebellions.

We reenter the great room. Finnick whistles and a Peacekeeper turn around, and Finnick punches him square in the face, knocking him to the ground. The other Peacekeeper reaches his gun and Katniss doesn't hesitate to put an arrow through his hand. He screams out in pain and all hell breaks loose. I can't keep track of all of the action. Madge and her mother scream, they are being pulled away by the Mayor. Haymitch is trying to get people out, yelling for them to leave and run for the tunnels or the downed fence. Mayor Undersee and Finnick are helping the women out the door. Cinna and Portia are leading the way; they know where the escape tunnels are. Effie is in tears. The damn camera crew is still filming. I ask Plutarch. "What the fuck?"

"Footage for the rebellion effort." He gives me thumbs up. "This stuff is great."

Brutus and Cato come running toward us. I manage somehow to shoot an arrow and it lands in Cato's thigh, he drops to the ground. Clove runs to his side with one of the Peacekeeper's radios in hand, she calling for help. Brutus sees me and he is coming for me, I'm ready to fight and I run at him, I use my bow to hit him. I make contact with his jaw he sputters some angry words and lunges for me. We collide, struggle and fists fly, I get punched in the gut and he gets hit in the face. Then I get him in a good hold and I lift him up high and drop him to the ground. This finally incapacitates him, Haymitch quickly hand cuffs him and tells me. "We have to take him with us. Can you carry him?" I nod and pick him up and drag him.

Brutus is heavy and he groans as I drag him along, I'm following Haymitch. I see Katniss holding the others off. Then I hear a high pitched scream, I look to the opposite side of the room and I see Enobaria with one of the Peacekeepers' riffles. "You'll pay for this!" Then she opens fire. Bullets fly as we run out the door and screams are heard. I feel like I got hit by a ton of bricks in my ribs, I've been shot but the bullet bounces off my reinforced coat.

"Peeta!" Katniss yells and lets an arrow fly, it pierces Enobaria throat and she drops. "Peeta are you okay?" She asks looking me over.

The air had been knocked out of my lungs, so I manage to nod in reply then finally get out. "Good shot." She smiles in relief.

We make it outside, I'm in pain but continue to carry Brutus. It is no calmer outside. Peacekeepers are running towards the mayor's house. I follow the others to the escape tunnel. I momentarily lose track of Katniss and Finnick. I am relieved when I see her behind me and Finnick close behind. But terror strikes me when I see Cato bolting for the house with Tiberius close behind, gun in hand. I guess now I know which side he's on, theirs.

I'm lagging with the weight of Brutus and the pain in my side. Finnick sees my struggle and rushes to my side to help me. Katniss is right behind us, covering us, but her arrows are almost gone. We make our way into the tunnel a few yards in I see Beetee's doors. 'We're going to make it' I think.

"The doors are shutting!" Finnick yells suddenly and shoves me through the door I fall and Brutus lands on me, his weight pinning me down. I'm shocked as I watch what is going on outside of the closing doors. I know that it's fast but seems to be happening in slow motion. Finnick and Katniss are on the other side; they aren't going to make it. Cato and Tiberius are just a few yards behind them. As try to shove Brutus off of me, I can see Finnick and Cato collide, the doors shut.

"Tiberius, no!" I hear Katniss scream and gun fire, then nothing. Everything becomes silent when the doors shut.

I am now banging on the door, begging for it to be opened, screaming for it to be opened. "You have to open it. Please! Katniss! My wife is out there." I don't know how long I do this for, it seems like forever, my voice is hoarse and my hands are bloody. Finally someone or some ones come to pull me away. It's Haymitch and Gale with Johanna cradling her baby in her arm behind them. I look up to see that the film crew is still there with their cameras trained on me. Johanna notices too, see stalks up to Plutarch and slaps him hard a crossed the check with her free hand. "You piece of shit vulture."

"We're just following orders. You think that I want to tape this?" Plutarch says lowly.

"Peeta, please come with us they're not going to open the doors." Haymitch says quietly and looks at me with a consoling look on his face. "Coin has found her martyrs."


	18. Chapter 18

Katniss

"Katniss, Katniss honey wake up!" I hear my father say, I'm in his arms. I open my eyes thinking that I will see him smiling at me. But…I don't, instead I see darkness.

"Katniss, please be okay." It's Finnick, pleading with me and holding me tightly.

I moan. My head hurts badly, my throat is dry and my entire body hurts; it's the only thing that I can register as I lay on the cold ground in a darkened room. I fear waking up. Over of long period of time I had been plunged into a series of unimaginable horrific nightmares. Every time I thought it was over it would start all over again. I groan and struggle to sit up, but my arms and neck are in absolute agony.

"Oh Katniss, you okay?" Finnick calls to me in a hushed voice. I can't see him clearly in the shadowy room, but I see that his face is badly bruised, otherwise he seems alright. "You've been out for a couple of days. I was really starting to worry. You screamed and cried so much."

"What happened? Where are we?" I ask in a quiet tone, still disoriented. "Where's Peeta?

"Peeta made it. We're in the Mayor's basement. After their 'gentle persuasion' failed to get us to talk about the rebellion the Peacekeepers tied us up and threw us down here. I'm sorry." Finnicks voice crakes with emotion as he tells me what I have been through. "You got the worst of it. They worked on you and made me watch. That Clove is an evil bitch." I can hear the pain in Finnick's voice. "They stung you with tracker jackers and made me watch you hallucinate. You were screaming in pain. I'm so sorry that I couldn't help you… I couldn't give them any information." I can hear him crying and then take deep breaths as he tries to calm himself.

"Finnick, it's okay." I try to reassure him, knowing how he felt, as the memory of watching Peeta being whipped came to mind. "You did what you had to do. Besides I think that watching someone you care about being hurt is harder than it is to be hurt yourself. Did all of the people get out?"

"Yeah, I think so. That's the one nice thing about having very few old people around; most everyone was able bodied enough to run away." Finnick answers with just a hint of his old humor. "From what I've overheard the guards saying, only a few of the wealthier merchant families, whom are loyal to the Capitol stayed behind."

"Of course! I bet you my best bow Baileys and Boyles were among them." I said under my breath.

"Well the joke will be on them if they think the Capitol will give two shits about their loyalty. Everyone else made it to the fences or the escape tunnels. Apparently, the Peacekeepers thought that the mine explosions were just accidents. They didn't think about all of the people running around. Most people were already gone before they realized that it was an attack. Don't worry about your family; if they were here, then they would have had them in here to use against us."

"That's almost reassuring." I say dryly. An awkward silence follows.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Finnick asks as if he doesn't really want to know.

I'm trying to remember, recalling only pieces and parts. It's hard; everything seems like a dream or a horrible nightmare. "The last thing I recall clearly was the door shutting and… Tiberius. He saved us or did I imagine that?"

"I think he did, but I'm not totally sure. I'm not sure why he stopped Cato in the tunnel." Finnick admits. "Later he stopped the interrogation; he told them that we needed to be 'intact' for a trade. Clove and Cato didn't agree, but Thread thought that Tiberius was right. Thread is in danger of having _his_ brains blown out for this mess, he's treading lightly. Then Tiberius pulled the stingers out of you and made them bring us down here."

It's all coming back to me now. Finnick and I were running behind the rest. It was total chaos, people running towards the fences and tunnels, smoke everywhere from the burning mines. Peacekeepers were closing in, Clove had been able to get a hold of a radio. She called for their help after I shot Enobaria, I killed her, I think. I had no choice she shot a gun at Peeta, he was hit but his reinforced coat saved him. Finnick and I were just a few feet right behind the rest of the group. Finnick saw Peeta struggling to carry Brutus and he helped to heave Brutus through the tunnel. An irate Cato came running out of the house as fast as he could, he and Clove must have removed Peeta's arrow.

Finnick yelled "The door is closing!" And he shoved Peeta and Brutus' motionless body into the doorway. I'm able to see the terror in Peeta's face as the door starts shutting, leaving Finnick and I out. Cato was nearly on us. Finnick stepped in front of me ready to protect me. The two massive men battled, Cato was bigger but Finnick was faster. Then suddenly I caught a glimpse of Tiberius, with a rifle in hand aiming, a few yards behind Cato.

"Tiberius. No!" I screamed. I thought that he was going to shoot Finnick but I was wrong. Instead he pointed his gun to the sky and shot straight up.

"Cato, stop we need them alive!" Tiberius told his brother. "We can use them to get Dad back. I'm sure that we can convince them to talk."

The next thing I recall is Finnick being cuffed and roughly drug by Peacekeepers Tiberius grabbed me, but his grip was gentle. We were placed into the study of the mayor's house, tied into chairs and interrogated by some random Peacekeeper for a while with no results. Finally there is a knock at the door, and Clove lets herself in and says. "Let me work on them for a while, my dad was the best interrogator the Peacekeeper Corps ever had and he taught me well." She had a strange, sick smile on her face and looked directly at me. "I had the good luck to find a tracker jacker nest close by…Well" She snickered sinisterly. "Good luck for me, bad luck you. We're going to play a little game, Mr. Odair. Every time you refuse to tell me what you know I sting her. You know it won't take too many of these to kill someone her size."

A jar was brought in that had several large, metallic looking wasps inside of it. I knew what tracker jackers were; I'd seen them in the woods and knew to steer clear of them. Gale had been stung once when we were hunting years ago, it messed him up for several days. Clove uses a pair of tongs to pull one from jar and approached me.

Clove was in her element, as horrifying as it seemed. "Who is leading the rebellion?"

"Sorry Ms. Psycho. I can't tell you that." Finnick mockingly apologized.

"Fine, you think that I'm bluffing. I'll show you that I'm not." She told Finnick in a cold tone then approached me and looked me square in the face. "I want you to know that I'm going to enjoy this." Next she took the tracker jacker trapped in the tongs and touched it to my neck.

The pain I felt was intense but I kept the screams of pain in my throat. I wouldn't give this crazy bitch the satisfaction of hearing my agony. After a few moments my senses were attacked by a hundred sensations. My skin felt like it was on fire one second and then it feels like I was being poked by a thousand needles the next. Every color I saw was intensified and made shiny. Every sound was loud and confused. I heard voices of people who were not there, like my mom and Peeta. The faces of those around me were being contorted and disfigured.

I was only vaguely aware of what was going on outside of my head. I heard Clove demand for information from Finnick, he refused her. I felt another sting on my left arm then awhile later another on my right. I was plunged deeper into my hallucinations. I'd gone from being somewhat in tuned with what was going on in the room to being totally lost in my own head. I know that I had many bizarre dreams but a few really disturbing ones stick with me. Everyone I knew and loved died many times in many different ways.

In one truly terrible episode I was running onto the escape tunnel just steps behind Peeta, he pushed me back and laughed at me as I fall to the ground and the door shut. Next Finnick and Cato start to beat me taking turns stomping and punching me.

Another hallucination featured Prim and my Mom in a mine shaft and being blown to bits the same way my father was. When I turn to leave my father is there and asks me. "Why, Katniss? Why did you let them die?"

In another Peeta and I were in our bed when he was ripped from me then and whipped to death by Thread. After I watch his death Cato grabbed me and then strangled me while Clove laughed.

I shake myself not wanting to remember anymore. I ask. "Finnick are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He sighs. "I just got a little roughed up that's all. I'll be handsome again as soon as my bruises heal. No one has been here to bug or feed us for a couple of hours." Finnick regretfully informs me. "We're due for a visit. I'm going to have to tie us back up again. I'm sorry." He binds my hands behind my back then sits down in a chair across the room and ties his own hands behind the back of the chair.

Then, as if on cue a few moments later, we hear someone coming down the stairs, it's Tiberius. He approaches me and situates me in a sitting position, unties my wrists, then brings a glass of water to my lips. "Here drink this I put some medicine in this to help with the pain." His face is full of concern as he looks me over. "I wanted to put a stop to it sooner but I had to let Clove try for a while so she wouldn't suspect me. I had to buy us some time."He leans in close and whispers, "If I would have stopped it sooner she and Cato would've known that I'm on the rebel's side."

"Well you fooled the shit out of us too." Finnick tells him in a sarcastic tone.

Next Tiberius unties Finnick, gives him a bottle of water and some bread and says. "I know and I'm sorry. I saw that we weren't going to get out and I had to think fast. I was going to just shoot Cato, but then we still had all of the Peacekeepers to contend with. A few of them are on our side, others are not. I couldn't risk it."

"You were going to kill your brother?" Finnick asks apprehensively.

"Yes I was." Tiberius admits coolly, then hands me some bread too. "If you knew the things about him that I know about him, you would want to kill him too. He helped my dad get rid of my mother's body. My dad found out that she was working with the rebels and killed her." Tiberius takes a deep breath and continues. "There is a plan in motion to get you out, I've got some people on the other side and I'm trying to let them know what the situation is so they can get us out. But you are going to have to trust me. Coin and the rebels have been airing the propos featuring you guys, the rebels have been able to patch into the Capitol's signal. They're using stuff that they filmed months ago plus footage from the other day. Everybody knows about the rebellion now. The Capitol is pissed. They're sending every Peacekeeper here that they can. Coin is reluctant to send us help, according to my sources."

"You're in with Coin?" I ask after I swallow my bread.

"No not really, I don't trust her. My people are from the districts. I wanted all of this to be done more 'discreetly', like on the train on the way here with real soldiers, not novices in a crowded room. But Coin insisted on this being a show, risking innocent lives in the process… Do you think that Madge is okay?"

"Yeah, she was one of the first ones in the tunnel." I answer confidently.

"Good, if anything happened to her, I would never forgive myself." Tiberius admits sadly, this is more emotion than I have ever seen out of him. I can see his brown eyes glisten with tears.

"You know she was really excited to be marrying you." I tell him honestly and a small grin breaks on his face. "Madge was so happy the morning of the wedding, she wore a huge smile and told me about how you had snuck her out of her room and made out after the rehearsal dinner. I think she might love you."

"Hey, I hate to ruin the sweet moment, seeing as how nobody loves a good love story as much as me." Finnick says matter of factly. "But how much longer do you think it's going to be before we can get out of here. Because I don't think that Cato and Clove want us around too much longer. Especially if our faces are all over the television screen as symbols of the rebel movement."

"Yeah, that's more good news that I've got for you two." Tiberius sighs. "Snow himself is calling for a publicly televised execution for you guys, ASAP, Katniss, for killing Enobaria and you for killing that Peacekeeper, amongst other things. Snow is coming by hovercraft to watch it in the morning. They don't want to trade you two for my dad; he can die for all they care. Cato wants be the next mayor of District 2, so he doesn't care if my dad dies. I'm trying to get us more time but my power is very limited." Tiberius looks at me solemnly. "I'm sorry but I have to tie you back up so no one will know that I was here. Just go along with it."

I nod and willingly put my hands behind my back. I have no choice but to trust him. Tiberius ties my bindings a little looser than they were earlier.

"Don't worry about me." Finnick announces proudly as he reties his own hands. "I got it. I'm pretty good with knots."

"Just be careful doing that, you guys could get visitors at any time." Tiberius gives us one last look before he leaves. "Be ready, this is all going to be going down soon. Try to get some rest. The Capitol film crew and a couple hundred more Peacekeepers are arriving by train early in the morning. Snow will be here by sunrise."

"Do you trust him?" I ask as soon as we hear the door shut. "Or do you think he was just trying to give us some hope?"

"We have to trust him, we have no choice. We have to cling on to that hope; it's all we've got." He pauses for a moment and I hear him take another deep breath. "Katniss I really want to see my baby. Annie thinks it's going to be a boy. I want to see if he has red or dark brown hair. I want to know if he turns out to be quiet like Annie or loud like me…I hope he's…" Finnick stops to sob. I wish that I could comfort him with an embrace, but I can't. I'm no good with words so I don't even try to ease his misery, thinking that I would only make it worse somehow. I have to listen to Finnick cry himself out.

Finnick's outburst makes me think of my family. I think of Peeta, my mom and Prim having to watch me be executed on TV and the thought makes me sick. I can only imagine what horrible thoughts are going through their minds. My only comfort is that they are all together safe. Maybe Peeta might find someone else to love, someday, he deserves to have a good wife and children someday. Tears fill my eyes when this thought strikes me. Suddenly I'm mourning the future that I could have had. I yearn for the children that I could have had, in the fantasy life that I shared with Peeta.

Suddenly Finnick's pity party must be over because he announces in an upbeat tone. "Get some rest sweetheart; we want to look good for the cameras. You know you scowl when you don't get enough rest. Which makes me wonder, if you've had a good night's rest in your entire life? " For a moment he reminds me of Peeta, always thinking on the bright side and teasing me to raise my spirits.

I laugh and tell him honestly. "I'm glad that I'm here with you Finnick. Haymitch would have been a total killjoy." Finnick giggles and agrees then wishes me sweet dreams.

I fall into a fitful rest, hours later when hear the basement door open and someone making their way down the stairs. "Well, well, well, looks like we've got a pair of celebrities down here!" Now in the early morning light I can see better and I see that it's Cato. "Your pretty little faces have been all over the television for the past few days. That's good for us on the Capitol's side, because everyone will know what happens to traders now. They die." Cato walks over to me, sets me on my feet in front of him, unties me, and gives me a sickening grin. "What a shame to waste a nice piece of ass. Do you want to get a last request fuck before you get executed? We've got a few minutes I'd be happy to give it to you."

I answer by punching his injured thigh with all of my might. He crumples to the ground and yells. "You stupid bitch, I'm going to kill you!"

"Katniss!" Finnick yells and I can see him struggle with his bindings. He stops when he hears footsteps on the stairs.

Tiberius runs down the steps along with a pair of Peacekeepers, one of which, to my surprise is Darius. He restrains me none too gently.

"What in the hell Cato?' Tiberius asks his brother. "You were told to leave her the fuck alone. Thread said not to mess them up too bad, Snow wants them to be recognizable for the execution."

"I was going to leave her face alone." Cato whines.

"You were going to screw her with your crazy wife in the house?" Tiberius asks sarcastically. "You want Clove to use those tracker jackers on you? I'm sure she'd use them on your dick!"

Cato looks as if Tiberius words must have had some effect on him. He gets up and I can see his leg bleeding. Cato glares at me and says. "I hope that they shoot you somewhere that it takes you a while to bleed out and die."

"Get out of here Cato. Go change your pants the execution is in an hour." Tiberius commands him. Surprisingly Cato complies and limps up the stairs with Tiberius behind him. I notice a look of recognition between Tiberius and Darius.

"Come on, let's give them some food and water and let them get cleaned up a little." Darius tells his partner, who I recognize as another local Peackeeper. "You promise not to try anything, miss?" I nod, and then he lets me go. "You need to eat to keep up your strength."

I think to myself about how strange that comment is, seeing as how I'll probably be dead in an hour.

The other Peacekeeper unties Finnick. A plate of food is brought to each of us. I begrudgingly eat the sandwich that is placed in front of me, I was starving and the bread that Tiberius gave me was the only food I'd had since the day of the wedding. I notice that the plate also contains a slice of cake, Peeta's cake. I can see his delicate handy work on the sliver of icing. I look to Finnick and who just gives me a slight nod. I eat the cake, it's stale and dry but I savor it, it's my last connection to Peeta. It takes all of my strength not to cry.

After being allowed to wash our faces Finnick and I are led out of the mayor's house. The bright morning light dazzles my eyes and I find it hard to see. The Peacekeepers lead us to the Justice building where we are stood before the brick wall. When my eyes finally adjust I can see that we're surrounded by a sea of white uniforms. On a platform I can see the withering figure that is President Snow seated in an extravagant red velvet chair. I had expected him so seem as intimidating in person as had always seemed on TV. But now I can tell how ill he really is, he'll be dead not too long after us.

Cato, Clove, and Tiberius are at the front of the crowd. Cato and Clove both look very satisfied. Tiberius is wearing his emotionless mask.

Snow gives a condescending, high and mighty speech. I can only stand to listen to bits and pieces. "…the Capitol has been nothing but gracious and charitable to the districts…You all have been deceived by the rebels….With disloyalty comes severe punishment and retribution… All rebels lay down your weapons now your fate will be that of these two." He points a shaking finger towards Finnick and me. "Their allies will be next!"

"Just think happy thoughts, Katniss. We don't want them to remember us being scared." Finnick whispers to me lightly, he is wearing a slight smile. He stands just a few feet to my left. "This will be over soon"

With the end of the long rambling speech, Thread leads a large firing squad of maybe 12 gunmen, lines up about 20 feet in front of us. 'So much for being saved' I think to myself, my hope is gone. Now I can only die with some dignity. I steel myself. I don't want Peeta and Prim's last memory of me being in hysterics.

To ease my pain I take Finnick's advice and I try to recall the happy times of my life. Most of which now include Peeta. I focus on him because he makes me the happiest. He has brought me so much joy over the last nine months. Peeta has saved me some many times: from disgrace by agreeing to marry me after Gale's betrayal, from starvation by giving me a job, from a whipping and maybe most importantly from myself. He taught me how to love in a way I never thought possible. I close my eyes to summon up an image of him. His shaggy blonde curls, fair skin dusted in pale freckles and the long eyelashes that frame the most gorgeous blue eyes I've ever seen. I burn this image to memory.

I open my eyes when I hear the sound of Thread's voice. "Ready…"

I stare at the gunman, directly in front of me straight in the eyes, I examine them and my jaw drops. I must still have some tracker jacker venom in my system because I swear his eyes look just like Peeta's.

"Aim…" Thread yells out.

I look more closely, it is Peeta! The Peacekeeper next to him is…Gale, next is the big guy from district 11, Thresh I think.

"Finnick?" I say staring at the firing squad. I can't rip my eyes off Peeta.

"Yeah play it cool, I see them too." Finnick whispers.

"Fire!" Thread screams.

But the firing squad turns instead and starts shooting into the crowd.


	19. Chapter 19

Peeta

"Peeta, there they are." Gale whispers to me and nudges me with his elbow. He has a few inches on me so he can get a better view over the crowd. Paylor, Gale, Thresh, Gloss, Cashmere, myself and a handful of other volunteers all stand in formation, rifles in hand, to lead the prisoners waiting to be executed. I see Katniss come out of the mayor's house, my heart swells, she's alive. She's still in the same clothes that she was three days ago, her hair is loose and wild, there are dark circles around her eyes, in general she looks like hell but I don't care, to me she's still the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen. I quickly assess Finnick, he looks fine other than a few bruises. I hope that we can pull this off.

So far our mission has gone according to plan, surprisingly, considering it was dreamt up with the help of Haymitch. It was formed in the hours following the evacuation and the heart wrenching loss of Katniss and Finnick. I was taken to the infirmary of the underground headquarters outside of the fences. I had to be sedated to calm me down and assess the damage done by Enobaria's bullet. I awoke to find a grave looking Haymitch.

He informed me of what all had gone on in the hours since the closing door separated Katniss from me. The entire district had gotten out, (including my family, Prim and Lily) except for a few Capitol loyalists who chose to stay behind. The women, children, and what few elderly we do have, save for the ones who able to help the effort, have all been sent to District 13 just to be safe. The rumor going around was that Coin, herself, gave the order to shut the door on Katniss and Finnick. She was citing that Cato was going to make it into the tunnel, to which everyone agreed was a poor excuse. Cato would have been easily dealt with once he was inside. Haymitch had a personal meeting with Coin and demanded that we try to get them out. Coin refused to send a rescue team, stating that they were more than likely dead and even if they weren't, that the lives of Katniss and Finnick were not worth risking the lives of more valuable, skilled soldiers. Haymitch accused her of using them as martyrs for publicity, she did not deny it. In fact she had seemed very pleased with herself; District 2 broke into riots and declared rebellion as soon as the wedding propos aired. She even had the nerve to tell Haymitch to have me ready to a propo on the deaths of my wife and my friend. I was seething in anger.

There was a knock to my door, and Paylor entered the room, she looked us over and said quietly. "I know, for a fact, that they are alive."

I asked impatiently. "How do you know?"

"I've got men on the inside, Tiberius and Darius." Paylor answered plainly. "I've heard that Coin won't help you, but my people and I want to help you. I think that we can get them out with minimal losses. We have to do it soon though; there is talk that they will be publically executed soon."

"You're not afraid of Coin's wrath?" Haymitch asks.

"Not really, she's not President of all of Panem yet, there is no guarantee that she will be either. Coin has made a lot of enemies; she's made even more of them today. Everybody knows that those two could have been easily saved. I can't knowingly leave good people behind." Paylor admits. "It's ironic, Coin's little propos that were supposed to gain her leadership loyalty only made people more sympathetic to the people that they were featuring. Now people are pissed with her for not saving them."

Behind Coins back, over the next two days intelligence was gathered and plans were made in secret. We were able to do this because Coin was in District 13, planning an attack on the Capitol. Only volunteers were able to be a part of the mission since it was not official. I was shocked by the number of people who wanted to help, three hundred in all. Many of them, like my brothers and I, from District 12 had to be given a crash course on how to use a gun. Other volunteers were from all over Panem and even some from District 13, who brought much needed battle expertise with them..

Johanna had wanted to come too, but she was convinced by Gale to stay and care for baby Hunter instead. I didn't envy him with that task, that had to be hard, Johanna has an iron will. "Damn it, Jo! You've…No, we've got a baby to think of. You've got to love him more than you hate the Capitol! Please let me fight for District Twelve there, you fight for us here." I overheard him try to reason with her through closed doors. It must have worked because she finally gave up asking to go.

Before we departed I met with Prim, Lily and Annie, I promised that I would do everything that I could to bring them all back safe. Lily and Prim had told me time and again that it wasn't my fault that Katniss had been shut out. It didn't make me feel any better.

Annie threw her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder. "Please, Peeta, please. Bring Finnick back to me; he's all I've got. I can't raise this baby by myself." When I wasn't working with Haymitch and Paylor, I found myself in Annie's company often. I tried to calm her like Finnick would, of everybody only she really understood what I was going through.

We had found out about the train load of two hundred Peacekeepers coming to District 12 and decided to intercept the train about ten miles outside of the district's limits. The Peacekeepers were almost happy to surrender; most of them had been fighting the district forces for more than a year. Even they knew that this war was not going to last much longer, they were tired of dying for uncaring overlords and were ready to quit; they went quietly into our custody. The Capitol film crew was replaced by ours.

Two hundred of us, the youngest and fittest, dressed in the Peacekeepers uniforms from District 8 loaded the train and headed back to District 12. The other volunteers, lead by Haymitch and Chaff, waited outside of the fence as reserves.

No one suspected us upon our arrival; it seemed we looked just like every other group of Peacekeepers. Twelve of us were dressed as members of the firing squad and we separated ourselves from the rest of the group. Although we were surprised that President Snow himself was there, just another sign of how desperate the Capitol was to try and gain control of the situation. We decided that if there was a chance to capture him that we should do it.

So here we are now waiting for the next and most important phase of the plan, saving Katniss and Finnick. Thread orders us to line up and approach the prisoners after Snow's long speech. I just happen to be directly in front of Katniss.

I see Katniss closing her eyes and slightly smile as we line up.

"Ready…" Thread yells.

Katniss opens her eyes and I see that same steely expression that she used to wear to school every day, back before I really knew her. She's hiding her emotions and she does it so well. Then she looks me in the eyes, really looks at me and her eyes go wide.

"Aim…"

I can see her and Finnick exchange some words, they must know it's us.

"Fire…" This is the last word the Thread will ever say, because on the command to fire we all turn; take aim at Thread, Snow and his personal guards. Thread is the first victim; he is hit several times and falls to the ground. Snows guards open fire after they realize that they've been fired upon after a few of them fall and chaos ensues. People scatter everywhere, Tiberius makes a run for it, Cato and Clove follow him. "Just like a rat!" I say under my breath as I watch Cato and Clove scurry way.

Gale and I make sure that the way is clear before we run to Katniss and Finnick, they have hit the ground and Finnick lying on Katniss. Gale and I lift him up, I unbind Katniss and I grab her hand and try to shield her with my body as we make a run for it. Finnick and Gale are right behind us.

"Fuck! It's a hovercraft, run!" Gale shouts over the noise. As soon as the words leave his mouth we see a hovercraft over head and it starts to drop bombs.

"Run!" I urge Katniss as I hold on to her hand and take off for cover as the bombs hit the ground and buildings and explode. Its terror is short lived because it is taken out by someone on our side with a grenade launcher. The hovercraft crashes into several unoccupied houses in the seam end of town.

In midst of the action we lost track of Finnick and Gale. Trying to think of a safe to keep Katniss, I see the mayor's house close by. I pull Katniss into it. As soon as we enter, Katniss throws herself on me and sobs. "Peeta, I-I thought that I was never going to see you again."

I hold her tightly and I try to soothe her tears, although I'm about to do the same myself. I can't believe that I'm really holding her again. "Do you really think that after everything that I've been through to make you my wife that I would be satisfied with only a month of marriage?"

Katniss cries and laughs simultaneously and gives me tender kiss on the lips. Suddenly I can feel Katniss tense up. We had been so involved in our reunion that we had not heard footsteps approaching until it is too late. "Peeta!" Katniss whispers urgently, looking over my shoulder. I spin around fraction of a second before I hear a loud pop and I feel a hot searing pain rip through my thigh. Katniss grabs my arm and eases me to the floor in and I'm shocked at what I see.

Cato, holding a smoking hand gun. "That's for my leg you son of a bitch!" Cato laughs at me, Clove stands at his side also armed, with of all things Katniss' bow and arrows. I'm not sure if she knows how it use them but I don't want to find out.

"Put your gun on the floor and kick it over here and I won't hurt you." Clove told us evenly.

I look to Katniss to see what she thinks. She seems to staring at a distant point, beyond Cato and Clove for a brief moment. She nods her head and gives my arm a squeeze. "Do it, Peeta."

I reach to remove my rifle from my shoulder. I think about this for a moment, I don't want to relinquish my rifle, but I can see the wheels moving in Katniss' head. She has a plan and I trust my wife with my entire being. I toss the rifle in front of me. Clove casts the bow and arrow aside and walks over and picks up the gun then also aims it at us. I have a feeling that she knows how to this weapon.

"How lucky for us honey!" Cato happily tells Clove. "We followed my little traitor brother in here and then you two showed up. That's a win, win for us!"

"How did you know Tiberius was a rebel?" Katniss asks. I think about how strange this question is especially coming from Katniss. But then I realize that she is buying time.

"Clove and I saw him start to take off as soon as Thread said 'fire'. I've suspected that he was a rebel for awhile; I knew it as soon as I saw him run. We're going to kill you two then find him, kill him too and then get out of this shitty little district!"

"What happened to you not hurting us?" I asked, although I knew full well that it was all a lie.

"I was talking about me." Clove smiled sinisterly. "I never said anything about Cato."

"Where are you going to go after you kill us?" I ask sarcastically, trying to cover the fear in my voice. "The hovercraft was just destroyed, the rebels control the trains now, and your home district is rebelling as we speak. I don't think you will be welcome back. You have nowhere to go. Why don't we all just put down our weapons and we can talk this through."

What came next only proved my point. The shooting outside had become sporadic; we can hear Paylor's voice over a bull horn. "Capitol Peacekeepers, you are surrounded; many of you have already surrendered. Snow is in our custody. If you surrender now, we will treat you fairly and not face prosecution by the new government."

Clove looks like she might cry. Cato's eyes go wide and he says in disbelief. "No, it can't be."

"See Cato!" I say trying to calm him. "It's over let us go." Out of the corner of my eye I can see what Katniss had seen earlier, Tiberius was lurking in the doorway behind Cato and Clove.

"No! I think that I'll just kill you now!" Cato says in a crazed way.

"No you're not Cato!" Tiberius calls to his brother, and lifts a jar above his head for all to see. Katniss helps me up while Cato and Clove's attention is on Tiberius.

"Tiberius don't!" Clove warns him.

"How about a dose of your own medicine, Clove?" Next Tiberius throws the glass jar on the ground, it shatters and dozens of metallic bugs fly out at Cato and Cloves feet. "Run!" Tiberius calls to us.

Katniss and I hobble into the adjoining room as fast as we can and shut the door firmly behind us. We can hear Clove scream in pain. "What were those things?" I ask as I try to catch my breath.

"Tracker jackers, she used them on me, to try to get information…" Katniss informs me sadly as she inspects my injured leg. "She's going to have an agonizing death, once one wasp stings something they send a chemical signal to the others to attack it too. But I don't think that there were enough in that jar to kill both of them. Cato is pretty big; it'll take a lot of them to kill him."

"Speaking of…what happened to Cato?" I inquire I had lost track of him during our escape. I don't like knowing where he is.

"He must have gotten away before he got stung, I don't hear him screaming. I think that he ran after Tiberius." Katniss tells in me somberly, as she rips off my sleeve to wrap round my wound, to staunch the bleeding.

Finally after minutes of listening to Clove's pained screams all is quiet. Katniss cracks open the door and then peeks her head out and then tells me. "The tracker jackers are all gone."

Katniss helps me up and we walk back into the great room. Clove's body lies on the ground, it is swollen and you can see an expression of terror etched on her face. Katniss hands me back my rifle and then picks up her bow and quiver, which Clove had cast off earlier.

We hear a commotion in the next room and then Cato burst through the door with Tiberius in a choke hold and a gun to his head. "Let him go Cato!" Katniss demands as she and I aim at him.

"Shoot him!" Tiberius pleads with me. "Just kill us both!"

"Cato. It's all done, no else needs to die." I urge him; I don't want to see any more people die. I give Katniss a sideways glance and I briefly lift my hand from my gun and give it a little shake. She nods, she understands me.

"No you're wrong; the little bastard needs to die…" His statement is cut off short as Katniss' arrow pierces his hand. Cato screams in pain and drops Tiberius. He stares at the arrow in his hand for a moment, next raises his gun at us. I don't hesitate, the reaction comes easier than I ever could have imagined… I shoot my gun. Cato is knocked back step and a spot of red blooms on his chest and blood starts to dribble from his mouth. Cato takes another desperate breath of air then dies.

Tiberius shakily stands up, glances at his brother's body and says hoarsely says. "Thanks."

I collapse; the pain in my legs has gone from being moderate to extreme as the adrenaline starts to wear off.

"Come on let's get you some help." Katniss says softly kneeling in front of me, cupping my face with her hands and then she kissing me softly.

With Katniss on one side and Tiberius on the other we finally leave the mayor's house and we navigate our way through the ruined streets. It looks worse now than it did the day of the mine explosions, smoke filling the streets. The hovercraft crashed and burned in the Seam section of town, it caught fire to the little ramshackle houses and the layers of coal dust must have acted as an accelerant. The damage done by the bombs make us have to take the long way around to get back to the Justice building.

"There they are!" I hear Finnick call out as we come into view. He runs towards us followed by Gale and Haymitch. Finnick gives Katniss and me tight hugs, he even musses up Tiberius' hair. Gale and Haymitch each slap us on the back.

"We lost you guys, we couldn't find you anywhere." Gale tells us.

We recount the events of the mayor's house. "At least Clove got what she deserved." Finnick said as patted Katniss on the back.

Paylor approaches our group and gives us a weary smile. "Glad to see you made it." Then she sees my leg and calls for a medic to come attend me.

Rue, the girl from eleven that we met in the woods attends to me. "It looks like a clean through and through, missed the bone and major blood vessels. You're lucky." She applies same type of ointment to my leg that I was given for my back months ago and I can instantly feel considerable relief as the wound closes up. "In a few days you should be back to normal."

Most of the fire on the merchant end of town has been put out, after fighting the flames in the Seam for a while, it was determined just to let it burn. The crappy little houses of the Seam weren't worth risking people's lives for.

Katniss and I notice Gale watching the burning shanties. "What do you think Catnip?" Gale asks Katniss with a touch of sadness in his voice. "All we ever did was curse those stupid little houses, they were cold, they leaked and were falling apart."

"Yeah, but they were home." She tells him. "Oh, well there are no mines anymore, so there is no need for miner's houses."

"Maybe it's time for something newer and better… A new way of life." I interject brightly.

Katniss just smiles at me. "Maybe, it is."

Haymitch hands us a bag full of rations and tells us in his usual gruff tone. "Go get some rest, while you can, Coin will be irate when she gets here. She'll be pissed that we were successful and that none of this was her idea."

Katniss and I slowly make our way home. We are being allowed to set back and rest as the others fought the flames or stand guard over Snow and the few Peacekeepers who actually wanted to fight. Most of them just surrendered like the ones on the train had. Over all the causalities were few, all deaths were on their side not ours. Thankfully the bakery has been unharmed other than some broken windows and cracked walls. We limp up the stairs to our apartment.

Katniss helps me out of my clothes and gives me a naughty grin. I'm still in considerable pain, although I'm more than willing to participate when she reaches out to stroke me. I feel myself get hard in her hands.

"We don't have to, if you're not up to it." Katniss tells me softly.

"Oh, I think I'm up for it. Can't you tell?" I tease her and then start to peel her clothes off. I sit on our bed just to admire her. We're both are dirty, injured and tired but neither one of us cares. Right now we have to make love, it's our promise of hope that good things can still happen. Other than some passionate kissing, there isn't much foreplay involved. Katniss crawls into my lap and eases onto me and gently rocks her body. I allow my hands to wander all over her body, enjoying the moment. When I feel us both getting closer I grip her hips and help her to speed our rhythm and reach our peak. We don't last long, it isn't meant to. Both of us just needed to join as one.

After we hold one another and tell each other what had happened to us over the last few days, I disgusted by her story of her torture. After a meal of freeze dried soldiers' rations we quickly fall asleep in each other's arms.

Sometime later we are awakened by the sound of a hovercraft overhead. "I bet you anything that is Coin." I say sleepily.

"I'm sure she'll be disappointed to see me alive." Katniss tells me lightly. "It would have been much more convenient for her if Finnick and I had been shot."

"Yeah, you're kind of a pain in her ass." I tease Katniss, and we both laugh. It is the best sound in the world and her smile the best sight. My heart melts and I now realize that the love that I have for her now is tenfold what it was a year ago, something that I never thought possible.

I'm interested to see what Coin's wrath might hold. We might be charged with insubordination, maybe, but it will be hard for her to punish us too severely for our successful mission. It would not be good for her popularity, which she needs now, more than ever.


	20. Chapter 20

Katniss

"What have I managed to get myself into this time?" I ask aloud, inside my empty cell. I know full well that sounds like I'm crazy for talking to myself but I want some noise in this cell. "Well, what do I expect for killing Coin?" Man, I must be really going crazy answering my questions with more questions. So instead I decide to replay the events that lead up to this moment in my mind.

Exactly one week ago today Peeta and the others saved Finnick and I from a Capitol execution. Our elation was short lived though. A few hours later Coin landed in District 12 and she called for Finnick and me to come have a meeting with her inside of the Justice building. It was the first time that I had ever seen her in person. She was in her late fifties and there was nothing extraordinary about her looks, other than her emotionless expression and perfect white hair; so perfectly coiffed that I had to wonder if it was a wig. She sent her guards away with a wave of her hand. Her demeanor was cold, but I could see the anger in her eyes, it was clear to me that she was not pleased with the situation.

"Congratulations on your survival." She told us, the words seemed genuine but her expression did not. "You're lucky to have such good friends and loved ones."

I was glad Finnick was there and I hoped he'd do most of the talking. I didn't think that I could speak to her respectfully.

"We are very lucky indeed." Finnick said brightly, his sarcasm was apparent. Maybe letting Finnick speak wasn't such a good idea. "Who knows what would have happened to us if they hadn't of showed up. Oh, that's right we would have died!"

Coin seemed to ignore Finnick's comment as she continued. "It would be a shame to see Mr. Abernathy, Paylor, Mr. Hawthorne, and your beloved husband, Mrs. Mellark, be charged with treason for their brave acts." Coin looks directly at me; I was forced to meet her eye so she knew that she had my attention. "Although I think that there is way that we can get around this."

Finnick looked at me with his eyebrow cocked. "Okay, we're listening." Finnick was speaking for both of us.

"After Snow is tried and found guilty, he will be executed by a firing squad of thirteen gunmen, one from each district." Coin looked us over. "Mr. Odair, I would like you represent District 4 and you, Mrs. Mellark, to do the same for District 12."

There are two things that I knew: I didn't want to leave my home and I didn't want to see anymore death anytime soon. Thinking that I had a way out of this, I quickly said. "But we've not been trained on how to use rifles very well; we couldn't be trusted to hit Snow."

"That didn't stop your friends from saving you, Mrs. Mellark." Coin told me in a slightly irritated tone. "Besides I've already thought of that, I have Beetee working on a targeting system that will make it easy for you, just point in his general direction and shoot. Let me make myself clear, if you cooperate with me, your saviors will go unpunished and will in fact be praised for their bravery. The members of the 'fake' Capitol firing squad will face a trial and possible execution themselves. That is if…if you don't do as I say, exactly as I say it, then there will be repercussions for them all, including the other three hundred who helped, will also face punishment. If I'm not mistaken Mrs. Mellark, your brother-in –laws helped in the mission too, did they not? I may even consider including everyone who knew about the plot, such as Mrs Annie Odair, Mrs Johanna Hawthorne and Mrs Lily Everdeen."

Glancing at Finnick I noticed that his jaw is clinched and eyes are wide. I nodded, in response, to let her know that I had understood her. 'Is she really threatening everyone I love?' I wondered to myself.

She hands us a script. "You will endorse my presidency on national TV, go to District 13 and be on that firing squad or else! Do I make myself clear?"

Finnick and I both replied 'yes'. Although as I glanced through the script my anger arose upon seeing terms such as 'complete trust in the new government', 'for the greater good' and 'sacrifice for a better tomorrow' struck me as being the same sort of lines that Snow would spout.

"Good, you and the others leave for the Capitol by hovercraft in twenty-four hours, make yourselves ready. You are dismissed." She told us coldly.

Finnick and I left the room quietly. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire!" Finnick whispered to me when we are well away from Coin.

"We're not going to be any better off with her than we were with Snow." I replied.

Finnick pulls me aside and looks strait in the eye. "You can't tell the others what she said about punishing them." Finnick told me seriously. "We need to seem to cooperate with her, but I've got an idea."

"Well, tell me what is." I said expectedly.

"Let's just say, it's our turn to save the ones that we love." Finnick gives me his most mischievous smile. "Sorry, but I can't tell you about it until I have all of the kinks worked out of the plan…I've got to go see Beetee and a few others." The next thing I know Finnick is running out of the building. "Just trust me!" He calls back to me with a smile on his face.

I told Peeta that I was to be on the firing squad, and he was not happy about it, he didn't think that I was well enough after my torture and captivity to leave home yet. I thought that too but I could not let him know that or I would have to tell him what the alternative was. One day later I found myself on a hovercraft with Finnick, Annie, Haymitch, and Peeta. I was nervous, Finnick had not let me in on his plan yet and I was still scared that if we did not please Coin then she would arrest them all. Finnick had told me earlier that the only reason that our spouses and Haymitch were told to come along too, was so that our full cooperation would be insured.

Upon our arrival Finnick and I were separated from our loved ones and taken to the location of the execution. Along with us the eleven other gunmen were shown how to use the high tech rifles. The firing squad was filled with rebels from the districts. I recognized a few of them: Gloss from 1, Dalton from 10, Thresh from 11 and a couple of others. I suspected that Gloss and Thresh had been threatened like we had been to join this firing squad.

What Coin said about the guns had been true, they were easy to use. All we had to do aim the gun and pull the trigger and the heat seeking bullet found the target, we practiced on a dummy. It was totally obliterated.

"It seems like a bit of overkill." I said to no one in particular, taken aback by the carnage.

Boggs who stood next to me, being that he was the gun man from District 13, replied to my comment, in a rather loud voice. "Well, not everyone's gun will be loaded, only seven of the thirteen will have bullets. It's part of an old tradition. Not every gunman gets a loaded gun, that way no one can claim all of the credit or guilt. It's all done randomly, so it will never be known whose bullet takes out the tyrant. Coin wants it that way."

As we turned to leave, Boggs waves Finnick and me over to where he stood. Upon approaching him he told us in a quiet voice as Boggs pretended to inspect his gun. "You know what ever she has you do, that it will never be enough, right?...Don't answer, just think about it."

The trial of President Snow was speedy; it had to be if he was to be executed before he died of natural causes. During Snow's trial Finnick and I were dressed in the dull grey uniforms of District 13 and interviewed by Plutarch and his crew. We dutifully recited the script word for word. Plutarch did not seem like his typical self, I noticed, he was subdued. After the interview I asked him what was wrong.

"Coin is planning on dropping bombs and invading the Capitol, even though they are willing to surrender, and they don't want to fight. I thought that Coin was going to put an end to this, but she's just going to keep it going and going." Plutarch told us sadly. "All of my family and friends are in danger."

"Don't worry. We are going to take out the tyrant." Finnick pats him on the back and looks me in the eye. "This will all be over soon."

As Finnick and I leave I asked him in a hushed tone. "What is your plan? What are we going to do?"

Finnick just smiles at me and says quietly. "I'm just aiming at our future's biggest threat." I knew what Finnick had planned; he was going to aim for Coin.

Snow was convicted and was to be executed immediately; in private with only the firing squad, a film crew and a few dozen soldiers present. A large open lot is being used for the execution stage. It all seemed so strange, me standing in the above ground remnants of District 13 and being on shooting side of a firing squad, especially considering that a few days before I was the target of one back home. I absolutely despised the role that I was being forced to play in execution.

Coin decided that no other witnesses were needed since it would all be filmed and then televised. She stood a short distance away from Snow, so she could be in the camera's sight, sending a subtle message that she was the one responsible for his death. She read out the list of his crimes and the terms of his conviction, I examined Snow, he looked worse than he had a few short days before, he coughed and blood dribbled down his chin. The only reason that he was still able to stand was because he was tied to a post.

I made a fateful choice; I've decided to aim for the most dangerous tyrant of all, Coin. I can't leave Finnick be the only one take the blame for her demise. It was the only way that I could think of to protect Peeta and all of the others, not to mention all of the innocent people that will be caught in the cross fire of the battles yet to come. I just hoped that my gun was one that was loaded.

"Ready!" a District 13 officer called out.

"Aim!" I trained my gun on Snow, but my hunter eyes looked at Coin with my peripheral vision.

"Fire!" I turned slightly and shot my gun; the sound of the simultaneous gun fire pierced the air. I noticed the look of shock on Coins face as she fell.

"No one say a word!" Boggs told us just loud enough to hear. I looked in Snow's direction, he was dead too, blood drenched his shirt. The entirety of the firing squad was quickly taken into custody. Each of us taken to an individual cell and made to wait. The only way to tell the passage of time was when a meal was brought to me. The next days passed slowly as I had nothing to do but pace my cell, eat, sleep and ponder what would be done to me later and how Peeta would handle it.

So here I am now, two days later when my cell door opens and a guard tells me. "There was a hearing and you and the other gunmen were exonerated of all charges, you're free to go home." Then I was directed to the end of the hall way.

I am greeted by a smiling Peeta, Haymitch, Annie and Finnick. I throw myself into Peeta's arms and he kisses me enthusiastically.

"Okay you two; you can do that later when you get home." Haymitch tells us gruffly, as he rolls his eyes. "Gosh damnit! How come I have to babysit all of you horny kids? I already had to watch Odair damn near dry hump his wife."

"Awe, I think that Haymitch is just missing Effie and he's just jealous. Maybe Effie will help you blow off so steam when you get back." Finnick teases Haymitch, who just stalks off. I have to smile to myself, I've never been so happy to see Haymitch be so pissed off before.

After we load onto the hovercraft bound for home, Peeta grabs me and pulls me into his lap. As soon as we take off Haymitch closes the door that separates us from the pilots. Then he and Peeta tell Finnick and me what had happened while we were locked up.

District 2 was now in rebel control and the Capitol has declared its surrender. Paylor was immediately chosen as interim President, she had a group of investigators try to find out who had shot had killed Coin, who had been shot seven times. Snow had not been shot at all but was also dead. The investigators had a hard time proving anything, since no one really knew which of the gunmen had real ammo and who had blanks. Another problem was that all of the footage of the execution had been lost, the camera had been broken. In the end it was determined that the heat seeking ammo had been faulty. A fact which Beetee had informed Coin of repeatedly before the execution, she didn't care apparently. The theory was that Snow's dying body had dropped in temperature, and that the heat seeking bullets found a warmer target instead, Coin, who had insisted that she be close by as Snow died. Everyone seemed satisfied with that explanation and all of us on the firing squad were cleared of all charges.

"That all seems to be awfully convenient." I say suspiciously, I still can't believe that we were let off so easily.

Finnick told Peeta, Annie, and Haymitch about our meeting with Coin and her threats on them and our other loved ones. Next we told them about Coin's plans to attack the Capitol and how he decided that she had to be stopped. What he told us next was a surprise. "I asked Beetee and he reluctantly agreed to make sure that one rifle had ordinary ammo and make sure that I got it."

"Finnick that was a terrible idea! What if you had been caught?" Peeta harshly lectures Finnick, I'd never seen Peeta so mad. "You're so lucky that the rest of ammo was faulty!"

"Peeta," I call for his attention, when I get it I admit to him. "I aimed at her too. If the camera hadn't been broken you probably would have seen me turn to shoot her too." Peeta's eyes go wide in shock, he is struck speechless.

"The camera wasn't broken." Annie's gentle voice breaks in, surprising us all. Annie is so quiet that you can sometimes forget that she is even there. "I convinced Plutarch, Castor and Pollox to 'damage the footage'. I know Finnick and I could see that he was going to do something drastic." Annie looks into Finnick's shocked face. "It really didn't take too much to talk them into it."

My previous assessment of Annie has just been blown away. Annie may not be the damaged shell of a woman that we all thought she was, she's really a rebel too, like the rest of us.

Haymitch shakes his head and crankily shouts out. "Well, the joke's on all of you! There never was any heat seeking ammo in any gun on that firing squad!"

"How do you know?" Finnick asks Haymitch. "I swore Beetee to secrecy."

"Let's just say that you weren't the only ones who knew that Coin wasn't the hero that we all had hoped for." Haymitch tells us somberly. "Everyone on that squad aimed for Coin, if you'd all been given real bullets then there would have been thirteen wounds in her body. Most everyone knows what really what happened, but no one really cares to punish you for it. Some have even said that Coin unknowingly committed suicide by firing squad; there wasn't a person in that line who didn't have a reason to kill her. Coin was arrogant, she thought she had you all by the short hairs and never thought that you would strike back…She threatened you two with the arrests of you loved ones, she threatened the others too, and Boggs was disillusioned with her and wanted to put a stop to the war. You may have just saved countless lives with your acts, and I must say that I'm proud of what you did out there."

There is an awkward silence. I take the opportunity to mull over ever thing that I've heard. "So what do we do now?" I ask.

"All of us agree to never speak about what really happened in District 13 ever again. It was faulty ammo, a tragic mistake and that's our story. Now we go all go back to our homes and live life." Haymitch tells us, we all agree.

A short time later we land in District 12. "We're home!" Peeta whispers in my ear as the hovercraft touches down.

I'm surprised by our welcome party; it looks as if nearly everyone we know is here.

"Katniss!" Prim screams and runs to me and captures me in a hug, my mom is close behind. I can feel the tears in my eyes. It's only been nearly two weeks since I'd last seen my family but it feels like a life time ago with all that has gone on. Gale and Johanna greet us with baby Hunter in tow.

I do a double take when, I see some little woman with bobbed blond hair throw herself on Haymitch. Peeta who is a surprised as I am asks. "Who is that?"

"Oh, don't you recognize Miss Trinket?" Gale laughs.

"It seems that Finnick was right, Effie really does have a thing for Haymitch." Johanna chimes in. "Apparently she likes rehabbing things and Haymitch is just the biggest project of them all."

Without high heels, a wig, and a thick layer of makeup Effie was unrecognizable, after she lets Haymitch go she gathers Peeta and me into hug and squeals. "Oh, my dears I was so worried!" Her Capitol accent was as thick as ever, it was Effie after all.

Peeta gives Haymitch a 'what in the hell' look. Haymitch just shrugs and says. "What can I say? I've always had a thing for blondes." Then he adds under his breath while Effie fusses over Annie. "Although I didn't know she was a blonde until she got her skirt off. Damn wigs!" Peeta and Finnick laugh, I can feel my face get red as I try to rid myself of that mental image. Then Haymitch throws his arm around Effie's shoulders and announces. "Come on! Let's go home, I need a drink!"

As they walk away we can hear Effie lecture Haymitch about the dangers of over indulging in alcohol.

"She might be good for him." Peeta muses. "That or she'll kill him."

We spend an hour greeting family and friends. All of my in-laws give Peeta and me hugs and kisses, even his mom seems happy to see us. Delly tears up in happiness, Hank swings me around, and little Jack squeezes my neck so hard that I can barely breath.

"Where's Madge?" I ask Delly.

"She's on her 'honeymoon'." Delly whispers in my ear and giggles. "She and Tiberius toasted last night. They wanted to married before Tiberius has to take Brutus back to District 2 for his trial."

I smile to myself, I am happy for Madge, she finally has someone who was worthy of her love.

Peeta and I pull away from the group as the welcome party breaks up so people can go back to the cleanup effort. Merchant and Seam work side by side to clean up the rubble and wreckage. I'm surprised to see that Peeta's mom is helping Greasy Sae serve lunch to the workers.

"I really hope that the topic of breadsticks doesn't come up." Peeta tells me under his breath as we pass by and wave, Sae gives Peeta a saucy wink in return. I try to fight a laugh, but I'm not successful and end up with a terrible case of the giggles. It just reminds me of why I love Peeta so much, he makes me happy.

Paylor has pledged to bring new industry to the district and reopen the mines. People will be free to travel from place to place for the first time in seventy-five years. Finnick and Annie will go back home to District 4 soon, but they'll be free to come back and visit and we can go see them, whenever we like. Maybe this really is the start of a new way of life like Peeta told me.

I'm still in shock at all the events and changes that have happened. So when we approach the bakery I have to ask Peeta. "Is this for real? Are we really home to stay?"

Peeta kisses me sweetly, picks me up and starts to carry me up the stairs and tells me with a big, boyish smile on his face. "It's real, Mrs Mellark, we're home!"

"I love you, Peeta." I tell him because I truly do and I know he loves to hear it and he deserves to hear it.

"I love you too, Katniss." He tells me, because he truly does.

**10 years later**

Peeta watches the children play intently, even though our daughter, Olive is only five, he's already watching out for boys. She's playing with Hunter and Archer Hawthorne and her three year old brother, Deen.

Peeta chose our children's names; he liked the name Olive because it was a plant (well, a tree actually), a food and a shade of my favorite color. I had suggested that if we ever had a boy that we should name him Rye or Wheat, but when our son was born Peeta took one look at him, smiled, and said. "Hello Everdeen Mellark." It just seemed right, so it stuck and was shortened to Deen as a nick name. Olive is my miniature with blue eyes and Deen is Peeta's very likeness with grey eye.

I tell him teasingly. "You're being paranoid, Hunter is far old for her and he has only got eyes for Ginny. Besides Archer and Olive are in kindergarten, they don't even think like that yet."

"True love has been known to start that young." Peeta reminds me and kisses my check. "It did for me."

I just shake my head and roll my eyes. "It still sounds a bit farfetched to me. Anyways, I think Olive has a thing for red heads. Did you see her chasing the Odair boys around the last time we went to the beach?"

"Yeah, but they're only around a couple of weeks out of the year, I'm more worried about the boys she sees every day. That Archer has got Gale's looks and Johanna's flirtatiousness, that's a bad combo if you ask me." Peeta tells me half seriously.

"He's six, give him a break." I laugh. Then I decide to change the subject. "Hey, I've got a surprise for you."

Peeta turns his attention from the kids playing outside and gives me his still boyish grin. "Oh really what's that."

"Prim and Rory offered to take the kids overnight. They want some practice before the baby comes. So we can have an _extra_ special dinner just the two of us. I would like to get my hands on your buns tonight." I wrap him in a hug and let my hands fall to his ass and I naughtily grope it.

"You haven't gotten tired of those things yet?" Peeta teases me. "I'm getting older now; I think that they might be going stale."

"No, I'll never tire of them. In fact if anything I think I appreciate them more now than I did when we first got married." I tell him truthfully. Over the years we've come to discover new and wonderful things about each other's bodies. Due to the presences of our children and all of the extra energy we it takes to care for them we're no longer able to go for hours at a time like we could years ago. Although, we've traded quantity for quality and variation, our love making is more intense and satisfying. Every time I think that our love life can't get any better we discover something new and wonderful, that comes from out of our mutual love and trust for one another. I know that I could never feel this way about any man other than Peeta.

Peeta's attention returns to the children playing outside. "You know if this was the old days, we'd might be trying to find Olive a betrothed pretty soon?" I nod in response.

All of this nostalgia makes me think about all of the things that are different now. It has been a decade since the rebellion and I still can't believe all of the changes that have been made to our nation and our lives.

Right after the Paylor's election as president she started a massive rebuilding effort. The Seam was rebuilt with better houses, a medicine factory was build and eventually the mines were opened back up with better cleaner technology. For months people lived in tents in the meadow as things were being rebuilt. The merchant and miner classes mixed more than they ever had because they had to, so they could survive. Merchants had relied on the mines too it turned out. Eventually lines got blurred, as people picked up new job skills and new vocations. When the district was back in full swing wages were better, life in general was easier, and marriage was no longer the only path to prosperity.

Haymitch found himself more or less out of a job as marriage broker, as the practice fell out of favor; he wasn't too upset about it though. He had already made his fortune so he took up raising geese as a hobby, it drove Effie nuts. She had taken a job with the new government doing more or less the same thing that she'd done for the old one, cleaning up the district. It kept her busy enough to only hen peck Haymitch part time. Their relationship still shocks the shit out of most people but hey, it works for them.

Effie was not the only Capitol citizen who decided to stay here. The Baley family packed up and left as soon as they were allowed to, so the district was in need of a new tailor. Portia and Cinna, took over as the district tailors. They stayed because they had fallen in love with the people here and were eager to start a new life.

Madge and Tiberius came back after Brutus' trial and execution in District 2. Tiberius works as a mining engineer and Madge raises the kids and does charity work. They are very still very much in love and very happy.

Darius was made the district's new head Peacekeeper and is well respected for his firm but fair handling of the law. Peacekeepers are now allowed to openly date and get married so the need for 'educational videos' has greatly decreased. (Although, I've heard that a certain video staring a green woman is still circulating within the barracks.)

My mom opened midwifery and she and Prim are both able to make to respectable livings. Prim and Rory were one of the few couples who actually went through with their marriage contract after the rebellion. They are expecting their first baby in a few months.

Gale and Johanna now run the butcher shop. They thought briefly about going to District 7 but stayed because all the people they love are here. Johanna still teases Gale relentlessly, but I think that he secretly loves it. Apparently they've still got the hots for each other because Johanna just gave birth to a pair of twin girls, Willow and Ash.

Peeta's family is doing well also. His brothers and their families have all managed to be successful within the system. Hank and even occasionally Elba still work in the bakery but Peeta and I are in charge of the day to day operations.

I still hunt once or twice a week and Peeta joins me often, although the woods aren't as lonely as they used. It's now legal to hunt and the woods are open to everyone. We never did move into a house, we still live in the bakery apartment and we're happy there. The lake is like our second home, we put windows and door into the old lake house. The government had given to us as a 'thank you' for what we did for the rebellion effort.

After eight years as president of Panem, Paylor stepped out of public life and Boggs was elected as the new President. In the new democratic republic term limits and checks and balances keep any one person from gaining too much power. Peeta has been approached by several people asking him to run for an office, but he always declines, for which I'm thankful for.

The children's shrieks of joy bring me back to the here and now. Hunter is giving Deen a piggy back ride while they are being chased Archer and Olive. I have to laugh as I look at Hunter and a funny thought strikes me. If it wasn't for him, none of this would have happened. His conception caused the breakup of my first betrothal and pressured me into my engagement with Peeta. Being betrothed to Peeta caused me to eventually fall in love with him and the rest is history.

Peeta gives me a funny look as I chuckle to myself. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Just funny how life works out some times." I say lightly and I kiss him.

Peeta wraps me in a tight hug and tells me happily as if he could read my mind. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

The End


End file.
